Element
by N a i. K i r e i. Y u k i
Summary: "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another." Prequel to Excavation. SasuNaru.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another." Prequel to Excavation. SasuNaru.

-The Prequel to the three-shot Excavation. If you haven't read it, please do. Or else, it won't make sense.

::

Before today she had never ventured this far into the city before. Usually she preferred to stay on the outskirts of the town near the suburbs, considering she was much more familiar with it. The stores were friendlier and the prices were lower. It didn't mean she necessarily was cheap. She just thought it was more practical to spend less money for the same product or service. It didn't make sense for her to go further to be unhappy. The trip was costly due to high flatulent gas prices, let alone time consuming because of the compacting traffic. Out of habit, she was already annoyed by the taxing venture it was to even reach the spot that her friends had been raving about. Usually, she regarded her boundaries and never toyed with the idea of an asinine adventure but somehow she ignored her senses and did exactly the opposite. At the final stage of her journey, she wandered into the recommended the high scale high hangout that resembled a Starbucks.

When she guardedly sat down alone in a red booth intended for two, her garden green eyes quietly examined the area, inevitably was impressed. It was clean and orderly, looking completely professional for a new joint. She fished out the menu that was tucked behind the ketchup and mustard. After quickly browsing, she flagged down a bustling server and mistakenly ordered a $20 cup of coffee. Feeling, no, knowing that she made a huge mistake leaving her usual place. Already disenchanted and uncomfortable, a hostile group of teenagers huddled across the aisle jeering, calling each other obscence names. She rolled her eyes at their immaturity and clutched her purse, looking out the window, studying the busy rush hour environment. As she stared at the cluster of cars crawling on the asphalt, she instantly regretted not going to her favorite cafe. Undeniably, it wasn't the best place in the world but at least they would have gotten her order right. She sighed and proceeded to thoroughly beat herself up, until she saw "it" pushing open the front door.

_It_ was remarkable, actually spectacular.

Despite her shameful description, it was not an "it." _It_ was a male subject. Biting her lip, she quickly determined that he was a _fine_ male subject.

Although her mind couldn't follow the rhythm of the heart, she steadily straightened her spine and happily flung her hair before her shoulder.

He confidently marched in a baring a reserved but solemn smirk.

She nearly fainted at his twinkling basalt eyes and provocative, but sinewy figure. Cashed out in a burgundy satin button down vest, Pima shirt, matching burgundy skinny jeans, he appeared to look like a miniature celebrity with his irrefutable gush of confidence. Eyes hooking onto him, she couldn't help but visually swoon over his elaborate but casual style of dress. It blended in perfectly with his boyish, god-acquainted features that consisted of spikey black hair with exotic grey eyes, glacier white skin, making him even more attractive.

She felt her forehead bead with a nervous streak of sweat as he stopped at the entrance's threshold. He curiously turned to peer down the aisle, his careless spears of touchable, silky hair effortlessly mimicking the fluidity of the wind on a breezy day. She swallowed hard. Could this finally be the embodiment of perfection she was waiting for _all_ her life?

She looked down and tried to shove the varying thoughts into the back. Yep, she was officially being _ridiculous_. How do you look at someone and decide that they were perfect for you?

Talk about exaggeration…

Clenching her teeth and nearly regaining her breathing when "it" sat down and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

Her head shot up, tongue twisted, she could only manage a curt to nod.

…

Although it had only been 10 minutes, give or take, she was already smitten with the gentlemen. It was so wonderful, that even her adamant coffee addiction and cold mistakenly ordered coffee couldn't bankrupt this sterling moment. He was enjoying this. She would even stretch and go as far to say that she was having the time of her life.

Every growing minute, the conversation greatly improved. He bore no resemblance to the assholes across the aisle. He was surprisingly elegant and articulate for someone at the raw age of 22. He was obviously an old soul trapped in a young body that valued the small things in life more than the average Joe. Such a refreshing outlook from the usually dreadfully miserable pessimistic people that often surrounded her. Maybe this was the small beacon of positivity she needed in her life.

The beautiful sight of perfection whipped out standard pen for the delightful part to this meeting: the continuation. Her feelings were reinforced with each methodical pen stroke on the café napkin. In his beautiful cursive handwriting, that appeared so close to professional font, it said, '_Sasuke_,' followed by his personal cellphone number.

He teasingly handed over his number, making her promise to call him, 'effective immediately.' She laughingly agreed, finally earning the number with her word. Without ordering a single thing, he prepared himself for departure, putting his pen away.

As he left without a glance back, she immediately thought that maybe he tripped and fell from heaven… That wouldn't be a stretch, would it?

Okay, maybe a little. But hey, not by much.

Almost smudging the note with her nose, she ripped herself from her lackadaisical daze and dashed through the door of the small coffee shop, her long mane of pink hair flowing close behind her.

::

After waiting a maximum of two days, Sakura Haruno, the peacemonger, the genius, the high school beauty queen, called Sasuke after their friendly but short-lived conversation at the coffee house. When the utter creation of perfection answered, she enthusiastically bounced around the room like a ping pong ball. Suddenly, she halted her excessive cavorting before she ruined the golden call—_and_ before her ecstatic actions warranted sedation.

Green eyes grinning, she exhaled and eased out her slowest, sexiest, _"Hello…"_

That single hello was the beginning of many hellos.

After a few dinners, flirty text messages, and lingering goodnight goodbyes, it was a done deal.

The 22 year old college graduate had finally asked her to be his. She inwardly squealed, summersaulted, jolted, screamed, but outwardly, all she said was, "Yes."

As a qualified fisherman of the sea of men, she finally made the catch that was worth all the small fries. She was actually proud of herself this time. So proud that she wanted yell from the top of the world about her new accomplishment.

Even with the accumulating piles of souls her man-eating father had accumulated from the qualified losers their family had the _dishonor_ of meeting since she was 16; she was actually pleasured to take Sasuke to her parent's house. Because Sasuke wasn't like _them_ at _all_. He was different.

He was priceless, witty, charming, and handsome.

At 25, she had to admit, she carelessly carted various men to her parents. In that time, she had never brought a man to her best friend, Naruto Uzumaki.

It wasn't because she didn't want him to know. She just wasn't willing to embark on such a death sentence that would most likely result in causalities on the frontlines of her home. The mouthy blond was overprotective and unreasonably insulting to everyone, including her. And when it came to when it came to expressing his opinion, he was extremely vocal and terribly frank. If he was thinking it, he was more likely than not, he was going to say it. It was a trademark feature that made him… well, him.

Whenever the thought of introducing her boyfriends to Naruto crossed her mind, her hyperactive, but shamefully accurate imagination produced the image of a heated Naruto gloating as he used his fire spitting mouth to chop them down to size with his fire-spitting mouth. She tried to shove the picture down but the same scenario exploded in her head when she and her lovers became even remotely serious. Knowing the ending result of every relationship, she avoided bringing all the walking disasters to his doorstep.

Tapping her pen on her chin and pushing the mound of bills to the side, she caustically stared at her white cordless, doubting she could plan some civil arrangement between the two men.

Emphasis on _civil_. Was anything like that even possible?

Sasuke was amazing in every way but even he too had his flaws. His occasional sarcastic remarks did leave her feeling down in the dumps sometimes. Her gut could only conjure the effect his smart mouth could have on her rowdy, blue eyed friend.

Sighing, she decided she would _try_ to get Naruto's blessing regardless.

Picking up her home phone, she flinched while dialing Naruto's phone number, hoping that she wouldn't regret this.

::;

The phone call was more anti-climactic than expected. He was surprisingly cooperative about squeezing in time for the remarkably glamorous Uchiha. With a sigh of relief, she readily prepared for Naruto's arrival, sprucing up the kitchen and reorganizing the living area. In the process, she scrambled to inform Sasuke about the planning. He was a disconcerted but eventually agreed with the idea.

"So, he's been my best friend for a while. He can be a little eccentric at times but don't get offended, he still means well," She speedily communicated to the slouched Uchiha as she arranged the tanned couch cushions on the love seat.

Sasuke nodded. "Mm," he acknowledged, absorbing all the information, pleading she wasn't delusional about his traits.

Mentally shrugging, he remained relaxed in his position on the couch. He observed Sakura throw an embroidered cloth over the studded center table.

Raising an eyebrow, an involuntary thought threatened his quarry of calm. 'Is he that critical that she has to change the furniture?'

Setting his elbow on the couch's back, Sasuke psychologically awoke to the ring of the doorbell.

"He's here!" She hurried to the door in her lively plum summer dress. The sound of her feet slapping the linoleum abruptly stopped as she fiercely snarled to him, "Play _nice_."

Sasuke innately processed the advice as an order. He disliked how quickly her cheery face turned grave. It was like she transformed into a different person.

She handily returned to the task at hand and his relaxed body immediately erected from the pressure.

At the door, squeals of happiness sparked from both sexes combined along with a loud exchange of kisses on the cheek. A humid wind swept the AC controlled house as the pair merrily conversed in the doorway, disregarding the elapse of time, and possibly the purpose of the meeting. Sasuke glared in irritation at the unplanned snub of existence. He just wanted to meet his best friend person and move on with his life. But leave it to a female to make _everything_ overdramatic.

He didn't have a former description of her "her best friend" but he assumed he wasn't anything special. Most people overestimate the friends, shadowing the nature of reality. For the short time that he's known her, he deduced that Sakura was a person that was a stickler for the truth, influencing the opinion that she was considerably less likely to do this. Still the common fault didn't erase the possibility that she would be blinded by shear love.

Suddenly as deductions flittered around, Sakura stepped aside from the ivory green door, a prideful smile mounting on her face as she revealed her best friend.

Sasuke's unimpressed expression slowly morphed into that of a hyper bush baby.

No, this couldn't be.

What the fu-? How?

Swallowing a heavy ball of shock, Sasuke stare invaded the aesthetically pleasing visual of this _Naruto_-person. The crimson leather jacket and strongly contrasting black t-shirt dazzled his surprised grey eyes. Feeling time and space intermittently stopped, he took notice of the torn skinny jeans and corresponding red and white Jordan's. In slow motion, an elegant swan-like neck turned, sweet caramel skin and riddling azure eyes pinned him to the couch, riddling the components of nature, questioning the boundaries of life. The unapologetic beauty glinted at him, his unique allure causing his head to boil from the outer shell into the inner soft tissue.

The smile born in his sultry eyes traveled to his chubby cheeks and down to his anemone pink lips as he whispered, "Hi."

Sasuke failed to respond in a timely fashion, an apparent delay taking neurological root to his talking instrument.

Stumped at his body's failure to comply, Sasuke watched the lively lemon-yellow hair sway as he threw his head to Sakura in annoyance and partial astonishment. His mouth dried still failed to reply with an appropriate welcoming manner to the newly met acquaintance. He could tell this was an emergency that if left unintended—

"I don't like him," Naruto folded his arms and pouted like a small toddler. "He's rude."

For the first time in World History, a male Uchiha ashamed. A incessant need punch himself in the face or maybe jump off the Grand Canyon. For the sake of pride, for dignity. All because he was winded by some tidbit blond that he had only met moments before.

"Sasuke…" Sakura muttered, embarrassed, as her green eyes tried to find refuge in something in the room that would make her feel like that this wasn't all going to hell so quickly.

"This is what you wanted me to meet? He just sits there and stares like a dumpy statue." Naruto scowled at Sakura, accusatorily.

Squirming in place, Sakura missed the indications of Sasuke's flaring retort. "It's better than being vertically challenged."

The ice frosting the room was only countered by the accelerant Naruto scattered on the flames. "Well, it's better than being mentally challenged!" Naruto balled fists were thrown by his sides, as his hot white glare probed Sasuke's pensively aggravated leer from across the room.

Feeling her head spin, Sakura nervously shut the door.

"I'd rather be mentally handicapped then a goddamn lawn gnome!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, and walked toward the puny, angry male.

"I'm not a fucking lawn gnome, you shit-faced punkass!" Naruto's cheeks puffed as the controversy between them naughtily unfolded, neither of them trying to prevent it from progressing.

"Could have fooled me, you idiot!" Sasuke felt his temple throb, his brain withering at how _gorgeous_ Sakura's best friend was up close, admiring his beauty down to the last detail.

The accomplished adult that inspired her with ambition was suddenly reduced to an impudent, annoying delinquent.

As one hand rubbed her bang covered forehead, the other rested on her hip, she sporadically felt something inside of her snap like a broken rubberband. "STOP!"

She stepped in-between them like a blade, shoving their shoulders forward harshly. "Now, shake hands."

"Not on his life," Naruto squeaked, haughtily looking up and away.

Sasuke growled as the pink haired woman shoved them together again. "I SAID SHAKE HANDS!"

They reluctantly lifted opposite hands, rolling their eyes and grunting respectively.

As Naruto's decadent finger pads brushed Sasuke's pulse, a resilient intensity matured inside Sasuke's subatomic structure. His brain cooked inside his skull, as irises similar to Topaz persuaded his gape into the stream of dare flowing behind his wall of cynicism. As their hands interlocked, the odd contact weaved something sinister inside them, the solitary gesture causing everything to go south.

::


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for everything you guys. Very appreciated ^.^

ஐ

Element

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The two hands shortly jiggled up and down for before Sasuke exacted a bout of cruelness on the adorable blond. As the he wrenched the digits into a deadly vice grip, the coldness in his eyes steadily increased as he witnessed the lithe figure squirm in pain.

"Ow! Lemme go!" Naruto tried to yank his hand away but failed. Like an anaconda, Sasuke tightened his grip as Naruto struggled. Naruto protectively placed his ringed-right hand over Sasuke's own, shifting his weight in the opposite direction in a sad attempt to pry his hand from Sasuke's hazardous clutch.

Feeling like his life was being suffocated through his hand with each passing second; he hastily panicked fearing the precious blood flow in his hand would stop. He wanted to live, well, his hand to. He was much too young to be any type of amputee. But this "Sasuke" character was causing him to become dangerously close to becoming… nubby.

"AH! What the hell is wrong with you!" Naruto hollered, his eyes mimicking twin set of blue moons painted in the humble night sky.

Sakura gasped, glaring at Sasuke. "Let him go," She ordered like a military lieutenant.

Sasuke grudgingly released him. Naruto quickly scurried behind Sakura as a security measure.

"Eeeep! He's a beast! Keep him away from me!" Naruto shivered behind Sakura, his fingernails digging deep into her shoulder. She crossed her arms over her chest and tightly pursed her lips at their unbelievably childish behavior.

"Where the hell did you find him? And please don't say the Amazon," Naruto dramatically begged, sinking lower behind his best friend. "Cause those people are scary. Did you know there's a tribe that eats people? Fucking people, Sakura—"

"No, I did not find him in the Amazon, you idiot, and you!" She pointed to her boyfriend. "Need to behave."

Naruto tauntingly giggled, his tongue victoriously peeking out from behind beautiful lips. Mocking noises trailed behind the pink appendage. Pulling his tongue in, he smiled like a dastard smurf, muttering, "Heh, asshole."

Sasuke scowled at the display of immaturity from the smaller male, despising his propensity to assume things. He presumed that since Naruto looked nice that he actually _was_ nice. \

Ex. Naruto.

Extremely attractive.

Ex. Absolute douchebag.

Ex. Disappointing.

"You too!" Sakura swirled around the instigating blond, refusing to be his shield any longer.

Naruto squealed as his offended eyes blinked innocently. Pointing to himself, his mouth draping slightly, he spoke. "M-me?"

Sasuke smirked as he yielded to Sakura. She reprimanded him like a grade school teacher, putting him in his respective place. It was just what he deserved.

"Yes, you! You came here with this concealed antagonistic _attitude_, planning to be a pain in the ass and act a fool," Sakura pelted, firing disciplinary glances at her two most important people.

Sakura groaned, throwing her head back, stressfully slapping her hands over her face. "I just wanted you to get along. Maybe get to know each other—"

"I love you Sakura, but…" Naruto tapped his finger on his chin. "Hell no." He quickly raced out the door, making his spontaneous exit.

Sakura closed her eyes almost as hard as the door slammed, wishing she could redo this exact event but with different results.

:

It had been a week since the incident and Sakura could sense Sasuke was sorely disgruntled with the outcome of "the meeting." His grudge was inherently obvious. He hadn't spoken to her in an entire week. "So," Sakura began, "Do you like Naruto?" She wiped summer sweat trickling down her forehead, while approaching her stoic boyfriend. He reluctantly flipped through some local newspaper ignoring the words slipping from her lips. The sharp crinkle of the paper indicated he was still irritated from the occurrence with her best friend, Naruto.

She stared at the man wrapped in a crisp white t-shirt, feeling like stripping down her last article of clothing. She ultimately decided against the idea. The implication that she was comfortable enough glide their relationship into a sexual nature would be a big mistake.

As he looked down at table centered in the eat-in area, she rolled her leafy, green eyes and pulled her tank top in quick motions like a make-shift fan. Of course, the stingy Uchiha would be still mad at her for what happened but she didn't think that he would pass the opportunity up to talk about it. At least complain…

Didn't everybody like to complain?

Even a little bit?

Probably everybody but Sasuke.

Advancing toward her possibly ex-boyfriend, she inspected his exclusively cold face. It was so cold that she thought it should be featured as the lead story on _Glacier Today_.

He didn't even bat an eyelash in her direction as she stood on his side, her hand propped on the slippery wood. "Are you at _least_ going to talk to me?"

Sasuke languidly flipped the page, tapping his socked foot on the linoleum. "Nope."

"Ha, you just did."

Sasuke gaped up at the patio glass door. His beautiful eyes grazed sun rays refracting on the hot glass as his frown deepened. He couldn't express how unappreciative he was about the immature games he was playing to gain his attention.

He thought he made it clear: If he wanted to talk to her, he would have.

He despised being pressured into things he _really_didn't want to do. Like being told to arrive earlier when he was already early, or work harder when he in fact was already working hard, and especially being dragged into a conversation about that stupid but beautiful asshole named Naruto when he didn't _want_ to be dragged into a conversation about the stupid but beautiful asshole named Naruto.

He unwillingly placed the newspaper down.

He had never felt more frustrated in his entire life. Despite graduating from a top-of-the-line university with a high maintenance family to match, there was more weight on his shoulders than ever before. In his opinion, prison would be a vacation compared to this trip of confusion he was taking. Over the past week, his interests were changing and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

Initially, he liked Sakura, a lot actually. She was caring, smart, and endearing. He was determined to share his new life with her, but he was even more determined for things to work out between them until he met Naruto that is. He wasn't so sure about satisfying the requirements of a meaningful 'relationship' with her after soaking in Naruto's sinfully enchanting smile. He found himself to wanting to be the cause of the smile, capture it, and embellish it.

Those gripping thoughts made him feel like he was a cheater, something he knew he wasn't. But when he looked at Naruto for the first time, his perfection repulsed him from Sakura. The second demolished all his evolving feelings. Admitting was hard but actually living it was even harder. It was bad enough that his reclusive behavior was extremely damning. His anti-social isolation coupled with his cynically-clipped responses were cryptic to Sakura but not to him. Clearly he knew exactly what he was chasing after.

But he didn't understand. This was a fresh relationship. Everything was supposed to progress from their 'honeymoon' period like a soaring rocket. Not fizzle and crash into the ground.

Unprovoked by Sakura, his straying heart hoped that this relationship wasted into a pillar of dust so he could explore other available options, like Naruto.

Damnit, he blamed those soul-searing blue eyes for everything.

So powerful and blue? How was this even possible?

He wasn't homosexual, nor homosexually attracted to Naruto. It felt deeper than that. It was deeper than that.

Sasuke appreciated beauty androgynously regardless of the admired sex. It was a trait that he discovered through proper education. Without the binding labels of gay or straight, Sasuke identified the intense shrouding in his chest as intense infatuation. Naruto being one of the main symptom.

His heavenly beauty was astounding, so much so that it defied all logic, possibly even reality.

Because…

He found him more attractive than Sakura.

He found her best friend more attractive than her.

Damn, it was mind-bottling… Mind bottling? Boggling? Mind-racking?

Who cares? It was a mind fuck… And his brain nearly orgasmed at the sight. He didn't even want to get started on what was happening in his pants.

He was literally being scraped to death by his zipper every time he pictured his face. Oh Lord it was happening, again…

Trying to avoid the sensation, he breezed his fingers through his hair, glaring up at Sakura. "What do you want from me?" He snapped.

She planted her hand on her hip and pushed loose hairs behind her ear. "I want you to talk to me. Is that so much to ask?"

He stared, as the biting silence consumed them. She figured he wasn't planning on consummating her question with an answer, so she decided to take a different route.

"Look." She adjusted her stance so she wouldn't come across as chiding. "I was thinking… Tonight's going to be a full moon, clear skies. Why don't you and Naruto go down town—hang out for a bit?" She shrugged as if hanging out with someone that decided you were on their shit list for eternity in the first five seconds was as "easy" as pressing an easy button. Unfortunately, it wasn't it. It was hard like relocating to the top of the Rocky Mountains in Canada… Hard, like Sasuke feared his dick might get…

He glanced at her. She stared back determinedly. He roughly sighed. There was no way out of this, was there?

:

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey, Robespierre," Sakura amusedly replied._

"_Awe, what's all that about?" Naruto dejectedly asked rebuking Sakura calling him a royal spree killer so early in the morning.__**Especially**__, before class._

"_I have a proposition for you."_

"_Should be afraid?"_

"_Maybe… I don't know."_

_Blowing down, Naruto submitted, "I'm listening."_

"_Tonight's going to be beautiful and I__**know**__you're not busy tonight so go out with Sasuke so I don't have to hurt you."_

"_Hurt me! Are you threatening me you fuc—"_

"_It is not a threat sweetheart, it's a promise."_

"_I don't take kindly to__**hazardous**__promises,__**Sakura**__," Naruto spat._

"_I don't think you have a choice, Naruto…If you decline, serendipitously, after class, you may find me near your car waiting for you."_

"_You wouldn't…" Naruto roughly whispered._

"_I would."_

"_I'll call the police."_

"_You should call the police, but I recommend you call the ambulance instead. Matter a fact; I'll call them for you."_

_Silence ensued._

"…_Why are you doing this?"_

"_Because I really really really really really really—"_

"_Okay, okay, I get it."_

"_Like Sasuke. And you know I love you very much. And I want this arrangement to work out… between all of us."_

_She could hear Naruto's pouting from across the phone line._

"_Fuck, what time do you want me to meet him?"_

_She giggled like the pink piglet from Winnie the Pooh, victoriously pumping her fist in the air. "Tonight at 8."_

:

Naruto viciously pulled up the brake, looking at Sakura's dry lawn, leaking malevolence.

He really wished he could have said yes to the all night rager his friend invited him to but he couldn't. Sakura's threats were so overwhelming he wouldn't dare defy her.

God, it was such a waste… He planned on getting faded. Faded until he didn't know mother given name but instead he was here, waiting for this jerk off, Sasuke.

This was most definitely not the way he wanted to spend his Friday evening…

"Fuck my life… _and_ Sasuke's too," Naruto whispered, his hands firmly sealed on the steering wheel before he climbed from his two year old car.

Slamming the door, he cast a starchy glance the on the 2011 Lexus parked beside his Nissan Altima.

Initially he rolled his eyes, wishing he could stuff a family sized jar worth of peanut butter in the gas tank. But suddenly his emotions changed, and he traced the metal Lexus logo with reverent curiosity.

'A man that's got his own is always sexy…'

And that was a fact he wouldn't retract. Although

He rang the doorbell, adjusting his True Religion jacket, wondering if he overdressed. He bit his lip, he tried to calm his nerves, remembering that it wasn't anyone _special_, just Sasuke.

Sakura pulled open the door with ample excitement as he came inside.

In a haze, of friendlessness and dread Naruto felt his car keys being snatched from the grip of his hand. "We're taking your car."

:

As they flew down the interstate, Naruto slouched in the passenger seat, exuding his A-class emotional baggage.

"I have to go out with you… _And_ you're driving my car…"

Sasuke glimpsed out the corner of his eye at his theatrical moaning and groaning.

"Did you bring any rope?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke squinted his eyes, confused. "For what?"

Naruto cupped his throat and rolled the right lobe of his skull against the head rest lethargically. "So can I kill myself," he moaned.

"Don't let the absence of rope stop you. There are plenty of other methods."

Naruto slowly looked back at him. "I suppose you're going to tell me from personal experience."

"Yep, tried everything. Just unsuccessful." Sasuke shrugged, feeling Naruto's gaze burning two holes into his right cheek.

"I can help if, you know, you ever want to finish the job." Naruto concernedly nodded in confirmation.

"I'll let you know," Sasuke sarcastically agreed.

"You know…" Naruto faced Sasuke in the poorly lit interior. "If you think you're going to get your hooks into my best friend, you've got another thing coming." Naruto said with a frightening absoluteness.

"Hooks? I'm not a pirate, idiot."

"You are a leach though. And the only thing that's going to be bled dry is you. Do you understand?"

Sasuke focused on the road and discounted Naruto's ridiculous terrorizations.

"Hello, I'm talking to you! Are deaf AND dumb now?"

No reply.

"You suck."

"And you swallow," Sasuke finally replied.

"You're a disgusting pervert. Do you hear me?" Naruto screeched across the console.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like it's true. I bet that those guys must like it when you take it all in—"

"Ew! I'm not listening to you!" Naruto covered his ears. "Can't believe you kiss your mother with that mouth!"

"The real question is how you kiss anyone with that one," Sasuke said, fighting not to chuckle at his exaggerated reactions.

"I DON'T SUCK DICK, YOU _**FUCKER**_!" Naruto screamed impossibly loud.

Sasuke thought the windshield of the car cracked but he wasn't sure if it did or not. He wasn't that concerned about it anyhow, it wasn't his car.

"Damn, you could make an entire village go deaf." Sasuke pulled one hand from the steering and wiggled his pinky finger in his ear to ensure he didn't just lose fifty percent of his hearing.

"I wouldn't deafen an entire village, JUST YOU!" Naruto yelled as he fiercely lunged at the driver. Thankfully for Sasuke's sake, he was restrained by the likes of the seatbelt.

"Chill. Before I shove you in a freezer," Sasuke threatened, watching him practically foam at the mouth in his peripheral vision.

"Don't threaten me, asswipe," Sasuke snarled.

"Asswipe, eh? At least it's a step up from a deposit box."

:

They finally arrived in downtown Seattle, the originator of _Starbucks_ and the birth of the coffee epidemic. The Uchiha parked alongside the sidewalk near a parking meter and pulled up the brake.

Naruto stepped out of the car, feeling a wave of anxiousness overwhelm him. The structured street light blurred the extension of Naruto's artistic mind. Overwhelmed blues roved to the lively building lights of plum, sapphire, and blood red beams smearing his incoherent thoughts. He could barely fathom the coordinated architecture that scraped the sky while also scraping the oxygen straight from his lungs. As a result, a swell of bottled love uncapped as he observed the solemn night sky that sparkled with solitude.

He closed the door and exhaled. Alongside him, calm civilians strode in and out of stores leisurely, seizing full advantage of the lax environment. Naruto wished he could come here more often. The heart of the city instilled a cool air of confidence into the heart of the city. Much to his chagrin, he was too busy to visit regularly. It was a blessing in disguise. Maybe it was worth canceling his appearance at the wild party.

he leaned against his silver car, his ganger spiraling around the inspiring Space Needle. In succession, his heart pounded like a snare drum.

"Don't come up here much?" Sasuke asked, startling him from his prideful stupor.

"Eh, no, not often," Naruto guardedly answered, catapulting off the car door onto the large blocks of pavement.

"Mm, it really is a treat when you do get the time to come up here and… relax," Sasuke slowly joined him on the curb, pushing his hands in his jean pockets, transparent grey eyes elevating toward the glowing black sky above his head.

"I guess," Naruto agreed sharply, not appreciating his futile attempt to bond. Did he really think it was going to be that easy?

"What are you trying for Uchiha?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"Civility?"

"Chivalry is **dead**."

"Someone with no class _would_ say that."

"HA HA HA. HA! Go fuck yourself." Naruto stormed away as Sasuke automatically locked the car and followed.

"Why would I do that, when you have me right next to me?"

"You couldn't pay me nearly enough." Naruto snorted continuing his brisk escape.

"I wouldn't have to pay you at all."

Naruto visibly cringed. "Can we stop talking about this? You're dating my best friend, which makes this conversation beyond creepy." Naruto's terrified doe eyes glanced up at Sasuke as he stopped dead in his tracks, standing face to face with him.

Sasuke hissed in his head—_damnit IT ALL. It was time to let it go._"How old are you, anyways?"

"I'm at this really strange, pivotal age."

"…Which is?"

"None of your business," Naruto said coldly.

"I see…" Sasuke nodded. "I'll just ask Sakura, I'm sure she'll—"

"Alright, alright," Naruto huffed. "I'm 19. How about you?" Naruto glanced at Sasuke with a delectable inquisitiveness that nearly made Sasuke lick his lips the way he would if he had just finished a hot, delicious meal. Luckily, he resisted and proceeded to answer the lingering question.

"22."

"22's a good age. Have you decided what nursing home you want to go to?" Naruto asked with the utmost seriousness.

Sasuke refused to answer the ludicrous question as Naruto pressed on. "No? It's not too late to decide where."

Sasuke bucked at him and Naruto stepped back with a hearty chuckle that warmed Sasuke with toe-curling emotional pleasure through his white Aeropostale hoodie and stretchy black skinnes.

"So do you go to school?" Sasuke asked, allowing his anger to fizzle.

"Yeah," Naruto replied as nicely as Sasuke had ever heard him sound. Maybe he was finally loosening up a bit.

"What college do you go to?"

Naruto cocked a blond brow with a mysterious smile. "Whyyyyy?"

"Cause I wanna be regarded as hero like Paul Revere as I yell 'the idiot is coming' throughout all the hallways."

Naruto frowned, muttering, "That was uncalled for. I have a 3.9 GPA. M'not dumb, so you can eat shit." Naruto pouted, kicking his foot at the tidy concrete. "You can go that way and I'll go this way," He said, wandering away aimlessly. Sasuke grabbed his arm, twisted his arm around in the opposite direction, dislocating his puny arm from the socket.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Let me go! I don't have to go anywhere with you!" Naruto tried to pull his arm away.

"Yes, you do! Tonight, it's my job to keep an eye on you," Sasuke said.

Naruto huffed but stopped pulling away.

"We're going to the fountain in the International Center."

:

Endless amounts water spurted about ten feet in the air as Sasuke and Naruto trudged upon its propelling beauty.

Then, Naruto remembered why the manmade geyser attracted numerous tourists from all over the world. Even tonight it was seasoned with awestruck people who designated their focus on the soft moon glow that framed the translucent water in the fountain's pool. In a way the somber setting was oddly romantic… even though he was with his best friend's boyfriend.

Shivering, he stepped forward, and walked into the brunt of the water, uncaring if the company trailed behind him or not.

Water splattered onto his expensive jacket, soaking the pair of classic Vans in the process. Feeling an unfeeling gaze on his back, he spun around and pouted. Why was this jackass looking at him like he was unworthy or something?

"You broke rule number one," Naruto snarled.

"By correcting your illegitimate thoughts?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"No, by touching me," Naruto snipped like the young punk he was. "You _never _touch me. Is that understood?"

"The fountain looks stunning tonight." Sasuke sighed, admiring the center city attraction with so much admiration, one would have thought that he was looking at the love of his life.

"Don't ignore me!" Naruto wailed as a major vein throb in his temple.

He couldn't believe this. This man challenged his superiority complex more and more every chance he got. How did Sakura find the courage to date someone that was his polar opposite and then tell them to get along? Was she just trying to piss him off in her old age?

He didn't like thinking about them being together, especially long term. If she happened to marry him, he promised to have the biggest conniption known to man… Come to think of it, he could always kill him. Too bad, he could enact his irrational plan right now.

"I don't know why I even agreed to this…" Naruto rolled his eyes and looked toward the heavens. "I could have gone out and gotten wasted tonight _but_ **instead** I'm stuck here with you." Naruto rolled his eyes at the sky, willing himself through a portal that would somehow transport him to the party. Actually it didn't even have to be the party. It just had to be anywhere but here.

Sasuke's mouth thinned. "Yeah, because that's always fun. Hang out with a bunch of underage _assholes_," Naruto negatively recoiled at the stringent insult. "that drink until the wallpaper becomes a mirror or just until they pass the fuck out. Wouldn't be surprised if some of them even attempt to swim home via their river of throw up," Sasuke retorted, agitated with the irresponsibility of the statement.

When he attended college, there were so many yahoos that didn't make it past the first semester because they developed a distinctive drinking problem that intervened with the work ethic.

Even with their butchered attendance, they still hammered on with a poor understanding of the material and their declining grades. It wasn't until the police busted the fraternities and sororities for with improper use of the dormitory, that they were brought before the disciplinary board for their unlawful actions. From there, the board decided to expel them one by one. Sasuke distinctly remembered the hot gossip. He only shrugged and felt an unsympathetic wash of relief. College wasn't a drinking competition, nor was it one gigantic party. It was a place of learning. If they didn't realize that within the first few weeks then they really did deserve to be removed from the institution.

The same applied to Naruto and his love for alcohol.

The blond looked away and pushed his hand under the cold sprays of water, his front of arrogance disappearing. "I don't drink until I pass out _or until_ I throw up."

Unconvinced, Sasuke shoveled deeper. "Just until you don't know math anymore, right?"

Naruto focused on the water pouring on his hand, disregarding Sasuke's insulting question. Light sprinkles of liquid decorated his satiny, brass colored skin as a vulnerable mast of defenselessness grew in the misty azure eyes. Frozen in place, Sasuke realized he struck a major chord that he didn't even know the note of. Absorbing the trigger like a sponge, he became a neutral slate, his eyes colliding with influential blue eyes. He waived the bust of snootiness that he had exhibited earlier and wondered how he would address Naruto's change of attitude.

He idly stood under the rush of the crucifying liquid, his straight hair matted under the water's mercy. A wordless Naruto diverted his gaze in genuine shame. Suddenly, everything you fell into place and he understood the teen's awkward hush. Nobody knew about his drinking problem, including Sakura.

He couldn't exactly pinpoint the reason behind his excessive drinking, but one thing was, he was going to uncover what it was.

"**It takes more than one particle to make up an atom."**

And the plot thickens!

Dude, I wanted to get this out sooner but I had a stupid essay to write. 4 pages. (Essays are dumb. Say **NO** to essays.)

I have to say though, I enjoyed this chapter and… maybe next chapter will be even better. BECAUSE, we'll meet more characters –winks mysteriously-

Questions. Comments, Concerns. Always welcome and appreciated.

;;


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I wasn't updating this because I was really close to deleting it and focusing on other projects, (not because I didn't feel like updating). After this chapter, if readers still aren't interested, I'll trash bin it. No sweat off my back. In the end, the most important person knows the pre-plot to Excavation—Me (:

I can always keep it to myself. It's not hard—trust me.

I was planning on updating this every weekend/every couple of days but… mmm, should I even waste my time?

_Thanks_ in advance. Now on with the chapter.

:::Element:::

Fuck Sasuke. Fuck Sasuke. Fuck Sasuke. Did he say fuck Sasuke? In case he didn't… Fuck Sasuke.

How dare he just stand there and say, oh, _"Just until you don't know math anymore, right?"_

He had no fucking right to insinuate that he was some type of drunkard when he barely even knew him!

Who the fuck did he think he was talking to exactly?

Lindsay Lohan?

Was it a punishable crime to party and have fun after a long week of studying and consecutive exams?

The answer was _hell no_.

Once upon a time, a hundred million years ago when the dinosaurs were roaming, Sasuke went to college. Regardless of how rundown and filthy the facilities were, it was still an institution of higher learning. Considering these fables were true, then Sasuke had to understand that there was nothing wrong with having a little bit of liquid fun from time to time.

If he was talking about him getting wasted every single weekend since he entered college… then maybe he might have a valid point. Maybe.

But wasn't that normal among young people?

The answer was hell yes.

Youngsters got drunk off their ass all the time. It wasn't a big deal. It never was a big deal, which is exactly why like a spoiled child, he demanded to home so he could rush inside, into the cupboard to pull out a… bottle of vodka.

Wait, if he had no attachment to alcohol like he claimed then why did he run straight into the arms of the bitter substance?

Did he have no resolve other than alcohol?

Looking at the zebra coaster that held the condensing cold drink, Naruto asked himself, 'Why _do _**I** drink so much?'

This question wasn't particularly necessary, nor did it leave him vulnerable to up to change—he thought he was fine the way he was. He was only wondering if this certain component of his personality was…disposable.

He didn't drink it for the taste. It was bitter.

Like him.

He didn't drink for the thrill.

That's what amusement parks were for.

He drank it because he could.

A minor indulging in alcohol was legally forbidden and considered taboo.

Maybe that's why he did it… Because it was forbidden.

Everybody liked a little taste of danger now and then. It was a human feeling. Glancing at the condensation on the outside of the glass, grazing his fingers outside slippery droplets Naruto's heart jolted like a horse carriage, realizing that that fucker named Sasuke, could be on to something.

;;

"What happened? Don't make you ask you again, Sasuke. What happened between you and Naruto?" Sakura stared down at the man molded on the couch like a silent owl. Flicking his head back against the couch edge, he mouthed a 'oh my god,' hoping he could will away the extending issue with his dismissive attitude. But with Sakura prolonging the issue, it was impossible to just bury it—where it belonged. She was bound to keep digging, until she encountered the answer she wanted. Lifting his head, attempting to dispel the accusatory tone floating in the room, he spoke with a clout of irritation—"I already told you. Nothing happened."

He wasn't about to share the fact that Naruto planned to drink until he forgot his own name, passed out in a sea of strangers. He calculated by Naruto's body language that she wasn't exactly keen about his party mannerisms or crazy drinking habits. Ranking her reactions from their little spat now, she appeared to easily become concerned. Naruto obviously didn't want to be dragged into a long battle with her about drug use and a complicated triangle of emotions. If he were to tell her the marrow of their argument, Sakura would instantly become worried about Naruto—Naruto would hate him forever and he could possibly be left out in the cold… or in the hot, since it was a million degrees outside.

Sakura's green eyes hit the ceiling as she rolled her shoulders—bravery sculpting her face.

"Then why did Naruto say that if you ever came near him again he could castrate you and turn you into a eunuch…?" Sakura looked at Sasuke, tilting her head as Sasuke glared.

"All I said was—He said that?" Knitting his eyebrows together like a sweater, he thought about what his girlfriend had just said.

Naruto felt that passionately toward him?

Too bad it wasn't in the way he wished it would be.

It wasn't the beautiful, lovely, erotic kind of passion.

It was the angry, '_I'll leave you balless'_type ofpassion.

The _dangerous_ type but not exactly the lustfully sinful type.

Taking it in like a black hole, Sasuke knew he was going to have this rectify this. By any way possible.

"Of course, he said that. He was livid, Sasuke," She explained. "Look, Sasuke, Naruto is a special case. You have to be careful with him. You can't insult him, or—"

"He insults me all the time," Sasuke said in disbelief. Was she seriously defending Naruto when she knew all of his social downfalls? Such as his ability to tell you exactly what he disliked you, thus making you feel like the world made a mistake of allowing you to live past infancy.

"I understand that but he's not really serious—" She offered in a motherly, mellow tone.

"He offered to help me kill myself," Sasuke interrupted with a straight face, wondering when Sakura was planning on admitting Naruto had personal issues that spanned beyond just their rocky first meeting. He hated him for some unknown reason that he didn't even bother explaining, all he did was express his hate in every possible way.

Sakura wasn't planning on accepting that this arrangement was going to fail. Even if she had to force it—they were going to get along, even if it was the last thing she did.

"I'm sure, he was just kidding. He would never really say that to someone."

"I know when someone's kidding, Sakura. My sexuality professor was kidding when he asked me to demonstrate sex on the table. Naruto was _not_ kidding! He seriously offered to assist in my suicide."

He knew that he would never kill himself.

If there was any violent contact involving him—it was Naruto trying to kill him. Rope. Chloroform. Or stabbing.

Ouch.

Sadly, he would never retaliate against the blond haired beauty. He just wanted them to be on even ground. Was that so much to ask?

It wasn't his fault Naruto was so fucking stunning that he couldn't form a single syllable after he greeted him. He was a victim of circumstance. Certainly he wouldn't hold that against him…

Or maybe he would.

"Okay, forget it." Sakura closed her eyes, thinking closely. "How about I bake—"

"Buy."

Sasuke's fear stirred. Sakura's cooking skills were left to be desired. If she baked a cake for Naruto, he could spontaneously combust. Then… all bets were off.

Sakura glared.

"—Him a cake and you give it to him as a peace offering—even though it might not be your fault." Sakura encouragingly smiled, loving the idea almost as she loved her knife collection. Almost. But not quite.

Sasuke stared at her, perturbed that all his options were exhausted. There was nothing left to do but navigate through this suicide mission.

…

Planted in the elevator of Naruto's vintage styled apartment complex, the lone Uchiha balanced a thin cardboard box containing a decadent raspberry cheesecake. Gazing down at the crummy graham cracker crust and thick jelly-like glaze coating the edge of the circular 9x13 cake through the transparent plastic, Sasuke hoped this apology was the best choice, aside from letting this dubiously blow over.

Though Sakura manufactured the **bright**idea, she didn't contribute to the fruition of its execution. She wasn't much help when he tried figuring out Naruto's favorite treat. It didn't help that Sasuke knew nothing about desserts, seeing as he wasn't much of a patron for sweets. With their teamed inexperience of baking and pastries, Sasuke holstered some bravery and traveled downtown, purchasing the cake he thought Naruto would enjoy the most. The oozing raspberry filling, bordering berries and sweet syrup carefully drizzled around the scrumptious delicacy, called his name, the creamy cheesecake detailing something elegant.

When he asked Sakura about Naruto's favorite cake, she pitifully admitted that she wasn't sure. She said that he had never clearly stated any flavor that he greatly preferred flavor.

Annoyed, he left, relying on his instincts as he purchased the dessert.

After he bought the fifty-nine dollar cake, he drove to Naruto's, securing the cake in the passenger with a seatbelt, like a baby. It would be all for not, if he ruined the cake before he ever reached his destination.

Sakura lent him the apartment security door to the building, so he would eliminate the barrier for the sake of time. In the elevator, he stared at the paper, unbelieving that Sakura had given him Naruto's address without even asking for it. What if he was up to no good?

What if he sold his address to people looking for 'a good time' out of revenge? He could imagine Naruto getting hysterically mad and blasting the visitor to kingdom come with his disgustingly nasty tongue, calling them offensively scarring names—_candyass fucknuggets_. Fucking hilarious. Too bad his conscious wouldn't admit him to do something as horrible as selling Naruto's address. But how could Sakura be so sure he wouldn't do that?

He had shown enough trustworthiness during the course of their relationship but that didn't mean that he wasn't faking and really batshit crazy.

Standing in the luminously designed elevator of the 17th floor apartment building, he tucked the paper back into his pocket with haste as he cautiously verified the cheesecake container was closed.

She was too trusting.

Or stupid.

The elevator car jolted to a harsh stop, pricking Sasuke from his slightly acidic contemplations. Grey eyes narrowed as he channeled the tall man entering the elevator. With broad, strapping shoulders buttoned down in a green flannel shirt, cramped into a pair of black American Eagle jeans, and rocking a classic black pair of Vans, Sasuke felt threatened by the arrogance seeping into the air. When tropical moss colored eyes grazed the glowing elevator buttons and the strong, long limbs made no move to press a floor destination Sasuke's suspicion arose like hummingbirds did at the buttcrack of dawn. Quick and eager.

The fiery scarlet hair and thick ringlets of eyeliner hollered an unspoken statement as he slunk beside Sasuke, ignoring that invaded one square inch of the elevator space.

Uncomfortable by the slightly condescending aura of the ash-white man, Sasuke's shot the conjecture—he didn't like him at all.

Egos wordlessly clashed—and Sasuke's mouth escaped him. "Irish parade today?"

The man cracked his neck, sneaking his fingers into the slit of his pockets. "Depends. Is it Asian Persuasion week?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the quick wit of the man that nearly modeled his height. Feeling slightly violent at the moment, Sasuke poured metaphorical watering can of water on his flames of anger. Ignorant of his ignition of nastiness, Sasuke hoarded all his anger in a glass case as he focused on just reaching on Naruto's apartment in one piece without tearing this troll doll into _several_pieces.

Reaching the eighth floor, Sasuke's fearful suspicions were confirmed as the cold toy that reminded him of the serial killer Chucky followed him in the same direction. Sasuke clutched the cherry blossom designed box as discovered Naruto's apartment 8-4, wondering if Naruto's apartment was organized and sparkling clean or a college student certified shambles. Guess soon enough he would find out.

Feeling the near presence behind him, Sasuke foiled—this joker was here to see Naruto as well.

The red haired man lifted his hand to ring the small doorbell but his hand was swatted his hand away, parsimoniously. Instead, he rang the doorbell Gaara glared but didn't dignify Sasuke's petty actions with a response. If he spent time paling around with Asian roosters, how was he ever going to be a respected assassin anywhere?

"You can always leave now," Sasuke's mysterious rival coldly and condescendingly propositioned.

Sasuke snarled under his breath—finding his fingers too tightly wound around the basin of the cake. "Ladies first."

The irritation was thickening as Sasuke purposely chippered away at the redhead's overconfidence.

A muffled 'coming' rebounded off the red velvet corridor walls as the two men anticipated Naruto shuffling toward the door.

Sasuke feared the comfortability factor as the man rested his forearm above his head on the doorjamb.

Since he was personally here visiting Naruto—that implied they were familiar with one another, causing Sasuke to wonder exactly how familiar they were with each other.

"Hey—"A flood of dim evening light poured out of the central living area from the Moroccan styled lanterns as Naruto's beam changed into a panicked mask of surprise. Peering into the faces of the two tall men, Naruto let loose a nervous giggle as he attempted to slide the door back into a closed position. "I'm not available," He said in a small voice, backing into the apartment.

"Naruto, open the door." The unidentified man commanded as one blue eye peeped from behind the rich oak wood.

Sasuke realized how deeply his glare intensified at the male next to him. Did he think that he could just talk to Naruto like that? Did he think that was appropriate? Naruto's didn't deserve to be treated like that especially by a large troll. Wait—could trolls be that tall? What exactly defined if someone was a troll? Were…were trolls even real?

Baffled by his own train of thought, Sasuke's confusion increased as Naruto pulled the door past his body.

Sighing at the peaking suspense, Naruto's agate eyes blinked innocently at the two lingering men. He sensed Sasuke's increasing annoyance standing in the wooden doorway. He didn't know why they were so much tension among them at the door—they didn't even know each other.

"Hey, Gaara." His lips slightly twitted up in a smile at the red haired man as Sasuke resisted the urge to sneer. Why was he so glad to see this asshole who was an asshole, who acted like an asshole?

What, was he his boyfriend or something…?

'So this fucker's name is Gaara?' Sasuke seethed in his head as realized that _Gaara_ might be something special to Naruto.

As his gaze rolled to Sasuke, his happiness dissipated and frosted like a popsicle from the hell of the north pole. "Sasuke," He regarded with smidgen of irritation, concealing the incident that happened when they were supposed to be having 'a great time' in Seattle.

Blond hair teetered into the edge of sweeping black lashes as the plump periwinkle pink lips parted with confusion.

Why were both here at the same time? Now?

'Could my life be any less like a play-written drama?' Naruto internally rolled his eyes, sifting for a way to end this moment as soon as possible.

Sasuke ego was set ablaze as Gaara overshadowed Naruto's small stature, temporarily gripping his slightly exposed hips, kissing him on the cheek, freely earning one back from Naruto.

Being nothing more than a bystander to the sub-romantic gestures—Sasuke prayed that the butcher knives he was glaring would end this 'Gaara's' life. Sure, Naruto would be sad for a while but he would eventually get over it when he realized that it was better for everyone.

The intimate way Naruto caressed Gaara's rippling triceps ignited a fuel of jealousy in Sasuke that he knew that he would never feel for Sakura.

Erm… Sakura, who?

Sweat beaded on Sasuke's fingers as Gaara pulled away slipping something that resembled a key into Naruto's hands—whispering something that he wasn't meant to hear. Naruto smiled like a drug addict that had just gotten his daily fix, taking the trinket with great appreciation.

"Thank you," Naruto sweetly accepting—his eyes dishing a fondness and an odd but present attraction for the man before him. Squeezing his shoulder and nodding his head Gaara departed—without retaliation from either party, specifically Sasuke. "Don't forget to call me."

"I won't."

'They talk on the phone…' Sasuke raked in, a wave of heat flashing his body. What were they to each other again? Oh, wait, he didn't know because they never stated the dynamics of their relationship.

Gaara confrontationally brushed Sasuke's shoulder—Naruto noticed but summed it up to pride—childishness.

Sasuke ignored Gaara—he's an asshole.

Feeling inadequate and spotlighted by the event, Sasuke couldn't shed any words—because there weren't any to give.

"Yes?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, dropping the item into his pocket, clutching the door as if he was preparing to slam it if he disliked the response he got from his friend's boyfriend. How did he find out that he lived here, anyways? Oh well, duh, Sakura.

The orbs of soft glowing light transformed Naruto's eyes to a rich hue of tanzanite, lulling Sasuke in like a soft lullaby. The sleekness to the soft caramel skin beneath the brim of Naruto's shirt drew something foul out in Sasuke—something perverted—as he glanced down at the exposed bit of flesh near the waistband of his sweatpants. The hips that Gaara touched but he couldn't.

Life was so fucking unfair—so unfair—regardless of how you spin it, turn it, twist, fold it, fuck it…

He felt the weight of the immense pressure thrust the box of cake forward as Ebonics exited his mouth. "Um, this is—for you."

Naruto looked down at the present with rapture as his impatience deeply blended with a swirling band of awe.

S-Sasuke did this for him?

Looking at Sasuke's trembling hands and then through the clear plastic opening—he read the artistically drawn 'sorry' on the frosting.

Disbelieving blue eyes scanned apologetic grey ones.

He was…apologizing? To him?

"Forgive me?" Sasuke rhetorically asked with a warped mix of guilt and repentance.

Naruto's heart lurched—twice—after he read the logo on the container.

It was from the small, French bakery downtown Seattle that he could never afford. Every time he saw the bakery's sky high prices tags, he fell into a consuming depression. Even when he got paid, the money was still never enough to delegate between his outstanding bills and monthly payments of rent. Still, he spent countless days relishing in the professional gourmet sweet courses through the stainless glass window. Never in his life had he thought he would ever have a sample of their cuisines—no less a cake.

Impulsively, Naruto's fingertips brushed Sasuke's jaw, moving the hair that freely rested there. His gracious blue eyes swelled with appreciation—not for the cake but for the kindness.

Such thoughtfulness wasn't commonplace for him—Sasuke perceived this notion from the compassionate touch that felt like more than just a brush of skin. More like a conjoining of the soul… Two souls.

Naruto smiled—'_thank you for taking your time with me'_— a blush glowing on his cheeks, as he removed his hand and said, "Thank _you_."

Though it was Sakura's idea, the execution was all his.

Sasuke smirked, muttering, "You're welcome," he muttered, claiming the victory under his belt.

Naruto took the cake off Sasuke's hands. "How did you know this was my favorite?" Naruto thoughtlessly asked the model of perfection stationed at his door. In reply, it shrugged, with a faint trace of a smile, secretly unaware of the small tidbit of information.

"I had a hunch."

Naruto's smile grew like a garden bursting into life. He pulled Sasuke's hand toward him and heartily whispered, "Come in."

Sinisterly glimpsing out of the corner of his eye at the Gaara, Sasuke mouthed, '_**I **_win,' like it was a life or death competition. Waiting for the return of the elevator, his eyes bore witness to Naruto pulling the older man into his apartment.

…

Sasuke expected something extraordinary when he entered the living space—and he got it. The soft radiance from the dangling lanterns wasn't the only unusually beautiful trademark. The hand painted Arabic letters whipped onto the 18th Century frameless canvas also chaperoned an exotic uniqueness. Every piece of furniture was systematically structured into the apartment like it was ordained to be there. All of it was Moroccan styled, from the Modern hexagonal glass console table to the Prestige 54 Leather Sky blue ottoman. Impressed, Sasuke drank in every breathing detail—in case Naruto changed his mind about having him so close—admiring the wooden shingle blinds, the hanging flat screen and the Carolina cabinet distanced approximately ten feet from the space of the tile patterned three piece sofa.

Sasuke reserved himself from stepping anywhere near the stark white carpet that the furniture rested on blended into the soft orange and white wall theme.

Two textbooks with several handouts were scattered on the cocktail table. Apparently before he or Gaara arrived, Naruto was buckling down causing that homework to relinquish and become sorry it ever met him. Mm, like the 3.9 wasn't a story—it was reality.

Wandering into the kitchen, Naruto flipped on the light and placed the cake into the refrigerator. He couldn't wait for it to melt in his mouth.

Sasuke was officially _forgiven._

Naruto returned to attending to Sasuke, his _guest_.

Pleasantly surprised, Sasuke leaned against the curve of the wall, watching the ball of adorableness emerge from the modernized kitchen.

Naruto felt oddly plain in domestic clothes. The last time they had seen one another, he had put so much effort into his outfit. This time around he looked like a bum. Atleast he was a fabulous bum, goddamnit.

"So, have you ever been to Morocco?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rested on the edge of his couch, moving his bangs out of his eyes. He was surprised Sasuke was familiar with the intricate designs enough to be able to identify the origin within a moment's notice. He had a good eye, more so than his girlfriend. When he introduced her to his apartment she asked him why it looked so strange. Then, he figured out Sakura was intelligent but not cultured.

"I wish!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I…would love to go one day. I'm completely inspired by the culture, as you can see." He flicked his hand carelessly, though it _was_magnificent. "Hopefully one day I can visit Ouzoud Falls, or maybe the Casablancas Twin Center."

Sasuke smirked, nodding. "Maybe become a flag for a day?"

Naruto snorted, adoring eyes sizing up the dark haired man. "Right at the tippy-tippy top for a whole month."

Sasuke mused that Naruto wasn't biting his head off, nor preparing fighting words that would cause him to fear for his safety. Did this mean that he was in safe territory?

Could they progress into something that wasn't destructive—firebombs—? Perhaps acquaintances?—burying the hope they become more than that.

Even though the touch from his jaw to his cheek was gratuitous, it had to mean something, right?

Maybe something progressive?

He had to be clear. He had to be forward. He had to—

"Let me take you to the movies," Sasuke offered, pushing his hands into his pocket.

Naruto paused like a media player device as his jaw flexed up and down—in a wordlessness motion.

"I don't know about that—I mean, I have homework to do, tonight and—"

"And?" Sasuke contorted his face with careless inquisition. "Fuck it, come with me. You can do all of this—" Only then did Naruto truly measure how close Sasuke had gotten as he watched his lips form each word with equal conviction. Captivated by the fan of breath on his lips, his entranced daze shattered with the slam of his Business 2 textbook. Looking at the contours of Sasuke's flawlessly structured face, he felt his throat dry and his guard surrender—like walls of Jericho crumbling to the ground.

"—Later. Wouldn't you agree?" Sasuke tilted his head, enjoying the Naruto's current mental incompetence.

"Um, okay. I guess I can take a break."

Sasuke smirked.

New Document: Easily broken with _minimal_seduction.

Use for later.

File, save as: Note Number 1.

Naruto stood up and stretched like a flexible cat, unknowingly giving Sasuke a store full of eye candy.

Gobbling up the honey toned flat, toned abs, the older man lightly gnawed on the inside of his lip, curbing his inner desires to a minimum. If Naruto were to discover his dark intentions then he would be certain to spasm into madness disgusted by the show of betrayal. Sakura was his best friend and he would never do anything to hurt her, including getting any closer to him than he was now.

That was a fact but…facts can change.

A filthy smirk slithered onto Sasuke's face as Naruto slipped into his bedroom to change.

…

Within minutes, Naruto stood before Sasuke, hands on his hips. "Now, I will allow you to chauffer me to the movie theater." With an arrogant smile, he looked down at Sasuke who was heighted at his waist, twisting his checkered vans into the carpet.

Sasuke focused on Naruto's waist and fleetingly thought—what would Naruto taste like?

When looked at Naruto, particularly his skin, he something sugary always came to mind—like caramel, mocha.

With a dash of hope, his morality writhing in the dust, Sasuke promised himself that he would get a flavoring of that savory skin in such a way that his tastebuds would be hollering for more.

Looking up, head in his hand, Sasuke's eye twitched. "How kind of you." Examining the Hollister denim draped over the Aero graphic tee and slackly stitched jeans, Sasuke repressed the naughty smirk that threatened to peel onto his pale face.

Sasuke dug into his pocket for his chain of keys, standing up, feeling oddly complacent into Naruto's home, like it become his second home.

"I know, right?" Naruto sarcastically answered, pulling the loop containing his checkered studded belt.

Sasuke sighed. Naruto's vanity complex was inexcusably huge.

…Well he did have something to be conceited about… So he guessed, it was excused.

"Shut up and get your keys."

…

As they marched into the fresh twilight, the choruses of the chirping summer birds clouding the air, the scorching heat rising from the cracks in the asphalt struck them like ballistics target practice. Weaving between the cars, Sasuke led Naruto, accidentally becoming nudged by the car mirror of a Toyota minivan.

"It's fucking hot."

"I know." Naruto agreed, feeling the thick layer of humidity address him face to face as they made their way to the other end of the parking lot. Why the hell did Sasuke park so fucking far? Couldn't he have stolen a handicapped spot? They sure as hell didn't need it. If they're handicapped then they shouldn't be fucking driving.

Naruto deviously smiled as he touched the moisture on the tip of his perfect nose. "You know, there's one thing people do to keep cool."

"And what's that?" Sasuke asked, occupied by the flipping through his key chain, searching for the remote under the cover of darkness.

"Strip. I don't mean just your clothes. Underwear too, merchandise. Everything. Step 2, streak like there's no tomorrow. Through neighborhoods, public streets—it's like having your own personal AC." Sasuke dished an unreadable look to Naruto and raised an eyebrow. With the delving glance, Naruto wildly recanted, "Not that I know…It's just from what I've heard…" He scratched the back of his head, blushing.

"Uh-huh." Sasuke chuckled. "Are you giving me advice? Or are you naming alternatives besides a movie that involves clothes?"

"No, I—uh," Naruto stuttered.

"Or do you just want to see me naked?" Sasuke smirked, clicking the unlock button on his car, the synchronized beeping jarring Naruto slightly.

Naruto's face impersonated a tomato's skin as a rush of inappropriate thoughts invaded his head like the Germany invaded Poland. Hard and fast.

Even though Sasuke was a guy—Naruto could admit he was really hot. Okay, maybe he was more than really hot. He was super-duper extraterrestrial hot—almost like he wasn't real…Was he?

Okay, stupid question. He had to be. Even though he was attractive and very _very_real, it didn't mean that he found him attractive. It just meant that…he found him attractive?

Naruto damned himself to hell as the heat of Sasuke's stare intensified.

Um, he was talking to the boyfriend of his best friend. The answer to this question should have been an instant no. Instant.

Instead, he was here staring back like a frightened mouse. _And_he neglected to dignify the foolish question with a response.

Sasuke popped his car door open. "Would it kill you to say no?"

Looking over the roof of the car soaked in amber glow of the parking lot lights, Sasuke fully pulled out his car door.

Naruto's lips were tickled into a smile, acknowledging he backed himself into a corner.

"No, but I think it would kill me to say yes," Naruto coyly answered, invoking a rush in Sasuke that extended past the harmless _flirting_they were toying with.

Sasuke never thought Naruto would respond to him with such playfulness. It was a gift—wrapped with silver lining.

Naruto unexpectedly touched Sasuke's vehicle with a bated curiosity. Okay, last time they met, didn't he have a different car?

How many of them did he fucking have?

He suspected the number was somewhere between 1 and 30… with a motorcycle somewhere in between.

But there was never any way to be sure.

He could always lie because he didn't want him to feel bad or seem like he was an elitist asshole, who only engrossed in expensive materials.

So far… that's what his guy looked like. A big ass Benjamin.

"I'm in love with your ride," Naruto complimented, glimpsing the Mercedes emblem on the hood of his car.

Warmed by the comment, Sasuke rested on his arm on the car door, slyly locking eyes with Naruto. The mass of their gravitational pull crushed them closer as Naruto's lips upturned with a sensually seductive—or friendly, he couldn't be certain—smile.

"Thanks, if it's any solace, you can ride…" Sasuke momentarily left the sentence unfinished, for dramatic effect. And oh, what an effect it was.

Naruto's hand slid to the door handle, his eyes not leaving Sasuke enrapturing grey pools for a second.

Patiently, he awaited the 'me' that he was sure to come but never did.

"With me," Sasuke's smirk expanded into a lascivious smile. "Anytime."

Naruto smiled.

And maybe, just _maybe_, he would take Sasuke up on that offer.

…

Maneuvering the steering wheel, Sasuke was tempted to ask about who _Gaara_was and why he coincidentally showed up as the same time as him. Their relationship seemed more than friends but less than lovers—leaving Sasuke curiously outraged. To think this numbnuts red head deserved Naruto, made him want to puke.

Just the knowledge of why he was there would make Sasuke feel worlds better. He wanted to ask—badly. But after catching the image of Naruto relishing in the humid wind as it fingered through his hair, he decided to hold his tongue. If he abruptly brought up Gaara, he risked ruining the mood. He _risked_Naruto shutting down on him—like before.

Impassively seated in the passenger seat, Naruto gaped at the windy street they speeded down piecing in his head how Sasuke seemed so pieced together. Faux leather jacket (hopefully Sasuke wasn't into animal cruelty), Tommy Bahamas v-neck shirt, purposely bleach stained jeans, and hightop black and white Adidas.

A looker. No doubt.

Him?

Not worth his time.

So why did he even bother?

Sure, Sakura wanted them to hang out but it strangely, it felt like there was more to the story. Not like Sasuke was seeking approval or a blessing. Like he was exerting some sort of effort into establishing a relationship with him…

What kind—was yet to be determined.

…

When they arrived at the Cinerama in Seattle, there was a line to contend with. After the snaking line cleared inside for the 11:30 showing, Sasuke and Naruto headed the ticket line. Looking at the list of blockbusters, Naruto swished his mouth from side to side as he indecisively looked at his options. They could pick an action-packed movie or something adventurous, possibly even a romantic headliner. There seemed to be every type of movie on the market lately.

The ticket distributor, a lanky black haired girl with green eyes, patiently waited behind the sliding glass. She didn't mind the wait. It gave her a window to reply to her boyfriend's text message with 'Eat Ryan's dick. I'm sure you'll like it much more than Arby's.' Slipping her phone back into her red uniform shirt, she tapped her foot, wanting him to suck on that for a bit. Asshole.

Sasuke looked before contemplatively asking. "Let's see Paranormal Activity?"

Naruto shivered, questionably questioning Sasuke. "Uhhh…"

Sasuke smelled the appetizing scent of Naruto's fear. "What's wrong? Scared?" Naruto flinched at Sasuke's goading question.

Was he implying that he was weak?

It was just a stupid suspense movie about the paranormal… that appeared surprisingly real.

He had seen the commercials, heard the hype, and theorized about the plausibility of the film… But that didn't mean he was interested in paying to sit down and watch the movie.

Wait a second, hold the fucking phone! Did that make him a pussy?

No.

Maybe.

Yes.

He was no pussy! There was no way in hell he was going to back down from a challenge, big or small. If Sasuke thought he was scared, then he had no choice but to prove the bastard wrong.

"I'm not scared!" Naruto fired back, in the depth of the night, only causing Sasuke's smirk to increase.

"I'd say you are."

"I'm not scared!"

"Prove it," Sasuke said, leaning on the counter.

"Fine," Naruto dug in his pocket for his wallet.

Sasuke seemed to rebuke the idea as he grabbed Naruto's lithe wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Paying for my ticket?" Naruto said with an upward inflection, glimpsing down at the pale hand attached to his.

"Why would you pay? I invited you. I'll pay."

"Well, everytime I go to the movies with anyone, I pay my own way. It's not a problem, Sasuke." Naruto's blue sealed a vile of hurt as he looked away from Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly jumped in. "I'm not those other people, Naruto. I want to pay for you."

Naruto looked mildly puzzled, his emotions tangoing awkwardly with what he thought was unwarranted kindness. "Um, thank you. I'll pay you ba—"

Sasuke held his hand up. "No need. Like I said, it's on me." Naruto looked unsure, as he tried to continue his nagging protest. "Really." Sasuke charmingly smiled, causing Naruto to toss his head away, red like a cherry sherbet treat. God, he shouldn't smile at him like that—it made him want to melt… Like an ice cube at the peak of a summer day.

As Sasuke paid for them both, Naruto wanted to know what the ulterior motive Sasuke had.

The clean, quiet theater with velvet red seats in neat rows, and the imaginatively constructed balcony made Naruto feel the way he had always felt when he came here – merry. Relishing in the gift of Sasuke's generosity, Naruto realized that his footsteps were even lighter than they had been in a long time.

The theater was packed with individuals, faces filled with anticipation, prepared to be scared out of their fucking wits from the late night showing. They too must have wanted the movie to be all it was cracked up to be.

As the thick, gold curtain pulled to their respective sides, previews skittering across the enormous screen, Naruto spotted the perfect area. It was the usual place that he saw the movie the clearest.

Muttering a million 'excuse me's to faceless nobodies, Naruto shuffled through the crimson theater chairs as Sasuke carted all the mounds of food he had purchased at the stand. The college graduate guessed he made a grave mistake when he insisted that Naruto additionally purchase the overpriced food as well. He just filed the accumulation of food into his arms piece by piece like he was a personal shopping cart.

Oh, what a mistake. But well worth it.

The fluorescent lights hugged the room as Naruto searched for the perfect view. Standing mid-row in the theater, Naruto settled on that space, his blue eyes confirming to Sasuke they shall sit here. Sasuke dumped the pizza, two buckets of popcorn, assorted chips, a box of pizza, two drinks, ice cream dots, a variation of candy bars, pretzels, and eatables Sasuke had never seen before. These items that a junk food king like Naruto would know about.

The lights cut off as they sat down and got comfortable for the film.

A chunky meatball made its way across the screen and Naruto asked for the box of pizza on the left of Sasuke.

Sasuke handed the box over as Naruto began to snack like a food-friendly-fiend.

Sasuke wet his lips as he smelled the delight from the tomato sauce and the melted mozzarella cheese. Leaning over the arm of the chair as Naruto lifted the first piece of pizza to his lips, Sasuke whispered the curse words that any food-lover dreaded hearing. "Can I have some?"

Naruto paused and curiously looked at Sasuke. "What?" Naruto asked finding that Sasuke was too close for comfort.

"Can I have a piece?" Sasuke asked. Immediately, Naruto handed him the box, figuring he couldn't be too stingy about it, considering Sasuke bought it with his own money along with everything else.

Sasuke gave a box a lifeless glance to Naruto.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Um, why wasn't he taking it?

Naruto pushed it again, this time earning a reply from Sasuke. "I don't want a piece of that. I want to a bite of that slice," Sasuke jerked his chin toward the slice in Naruto's hand.

"No, _this is mine_. You can take one _of your own_ from _here_," Naruto condescendingly said, placing the open box between them.

"I already told you I don't want one of those. I want a piece of the one in your hand."

Under the blanket of artificial darkness Naruto's eyes became a homogenous mixture of confusion and incredulity.

This was a new one…

"…Whhhhy?" Naruto stretched his neck out, _knowing_this explanation was going to be way over his head.

"Conserve energy… It is a lot of work to get another slice from the box and I get lazier as the night progresses, seeing as it is night time…"

Naruto burned red from slight embarrassment but also with the awkward temptation to concede to Sasuke's odd whim.

Naruto tried to pass the piece of pizza but again, Sasuke rejected it.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto couldn't fathom what he did wrong now.

Was nothing good enough for this damned Uchiha?

Did he want him to fucking… Uh-oh…

"Feed it to me."

"What?" Naruto recoiled. "Hell no! I'm not your mother or your fucking wife! To make matters worse, you're not handicapped!"

"But _I am_ extremely lazy, Naruto." Sasuke smirked, hovering over Naruto like mother hen.

Naruto fell back a bit, feeling like someone was holding him hostage with a lighter to his cheeks.

"I've been up so early this morning—5:30 to be exact and I've been working all day."

Naruto remembered—after a so called 'hard day', he had taken the time to buy him a cake and even treat him a movie.

"All I want is one bite, Naruto."

Naruto caved like a manhole and held the pizza to Sasuke's mouth. With a demented allurement, Sasuke sunk his teeth into the hot doe, locked in a gazing match, the direct eye contact creating a pool of fire on their outside layers.

Sasuke severed the small piece from the pizza with his insanely white teeth, licking from crevice to crevice on his flawless bottom lip—daring Naruto. Daring him to look away.

What a challenge—Naruto knew damn well he couldn't.

It was like being contained in a cage, unaware of how you were captured behind the steel bars in the first place.

As Sasuke playful gander traced Naruto's astonished face, he slowly pulled away like a retreating snake.

Naruto gasped in a breath after he realized that he hadn't been breathing through the entire ordeal. A sore burning in his lungs begged for air as he snapped his head away from Sasuke.

The guy was fucking tease.

He was doing this on purpose for kicks.

This was a ploy. Some sort of gateway drug to get him addicted—no rehab available.

Swallowing hard, Naruto wondered, was it working?

Aiming for a speedy recovery, Naruto jerked the slice away, stuffing a great majority into his mouth, comprehending that Sasuke's mouth had been in the same place only moments before. Oh god, he thought he was going to be sick. Weren't only girlfriends supposed to take untroubled bites after their boyfriends?

Not the best friend?

Right?

Naruto whispered, "F-m-l," hearing in his ear a calm, reserved _thank you_ that had an edge of smugness that was absolutely unparalleled.

As the previews passed, the chatter ceased, and the movie began, Naruto wasn't sinking into the movie at all. He hoped it was the loads of food or the anticipation of the movie but it wasn't. It was because he was sharing the arm rest with Sasuke—touching his softness of his hand.

Distracted. Distracted. Distracted.

He continually snacked on the bag of skittles, watching the film unfold. The suspense was a little slow but definitely building. A large thud bombed the loud speakers and Naruto hurled himself against Sasuke's arm. Collected, Sasuke internally smiled like an emancipated demon from hell. With Naruto all over him like this, he could face any foe, dial any phone, drive any car, not just his car but anyone's car—

As the female lead in the movie, Katie, stood at the side of the bed watching her live in boyfriend, Micah, Naruto buried himself in Sasuke's shoulder, muttering a prayer for his shivering soul.

The movie continued—like a charm—and Naruto clung to Sasuke's right arm, muffling his shrill screams in them.

Sasuke clearly enjoyed his warmth, every step of the way.

Toward the end of the film when the demonically possessed girlfriend hurled Micah at the home camera, Naruto yelped, clawing Sasuke's leather jacket into his fingers, pulling them skin to skin as he trembled with trepidation. "Oh my fucking God, hold me."

Not shaken by the plot for the second, Sasuke thought, no, knew, that he chose the best for the occasion.

—Slowly courting Naruto.

"Turn them on…" Naruto shivered against Sasuke's leathered back. "Hurry up and turn them on!" Naruto slapped Sasuke on the back. He sighed flipping on the lights in Naruto's home.

The small male crested from the obscuring view of Sasuke's brawny arm, inspecting the apartment with a fine toothed comb.

Eyes shooting from right to left, Naruto surmised that nothing _obvious_was going to jump out at him—which was good. Very good.

The reaction caused Sasuke to pinch his nose bone. He grabbed Naruto's hand from his body and dragged further inside, despite his struggle.

"Come sweetheart. Nothing here is going to bite you—your imagination is the only thing with teeth," Sasuke cynically drawled, guiding Naruto to his own couch.

"No! No! There are ghosts in every home. Who's to say there's not one in here!" Naruto yanked his hand, covering his hand over Sasuke's, a distinctive flickering of fireworks inhabiting abreast the situation.

"I do." Sasuke still cradled Naruto's hand. "You lived in here before you watched the movie, correct?"

"Yea, but—" Naruto started but was abruptly interrupted.

"Then you can live here after. Stop being such a baby before I go the pharmacy and get you some Huggies."

"I'm not being a baby," Naruto muttered, folding his arms, a pout forming on his pinkened face.

Sasuke shadowed over his small figure, sternly securing their eyes, two pairs of pupils. "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. Stop calling me a baby, buttface." Naruto pouted, making Sasuke's heart leap several beats at Naruto's luscious pink lips, and tantalizing crystalline eyes. Weathering the picture of gorgeousness without shoving him against the soft painted wall and ravishing those full plump lips, Sasuke guided Naruto to the entrance of his kitchen to remind him of a certain _something._

"I'm not being a baby. The movie was scary." Naruto whined, Sasuke still holding his hand behind his enormous body. "Maybe I should eat some cheesecake and try to calm down."

Sasuke's heart teetered as Naruto caught on.

He knew he would come around soon enough. Comfort foods usually eased someone after a traumatic event.

Naruto opened the fridge, his troubled features worrying Sasuke. "Umm. Can I ask you a big favor? And you can say no if you want, it's just—"

"What is it?"

"Can you stay over a little _bit_ longer—I mean just until I, you know—filter the movie out of my head," Naruto threaded his hands together restlessly, the light from the fridge indicating he valued the conversation more than the price on his energy bill.

Sasuke felt like literally leaping at the opportunity, but he kept his metaphorical cool—"Sure, I don't mind."

Naruto's grinned thankfully, warming to Sasuke like moth to an open flame.

Forbidden—exactly what Naruto wanted.

Naruto eventually took the cake out of the fridge and placed it on the circular dining table that housed the relaxed Uchiha, who adorned the table contentedly. Slapping the pastry spatula down on the sleek wood, Naruto inspected the cake like a sweets detective, dipping his finger into the sugared script writing. In a delighted daze, Naruto swirled the able pink muscle around the coated finger and hugged his perfectly stunning lips around his the digit.

Forgetting that Sasuke was watching him like an obsessive hawk, Naruto's blue eyes rose to the steel colored irises trained on him with an innocent question. "Want a _piece_?"

Sasuke was temporarily stapled into the vortex of the space time continuum, unable to generate a response—which was common around Naruto—as he felt his crotch tighten. He licked his lips, improved his posture, determining he wanted a piece of something. But it wasn't cake.

…

MMM, it's your decision if I continue this or not. I'll sleep fine either way.

But in case you're wondering, the breakdown works something like this… "Updates every week and upcoming, frequently served lemonade? Sasuke and Naruto being naughty? Sakura getting cast aside like an evil brujeria?"

If that soundssss good to you, you'll drop me and my monster Miranda a line. Or pick up a line?

Ja,ja, ja, :D


	4. Chapter 4

You guys seem to love this story more than I do, so I won't delete it -_-

Even though I have limited motivation to write this… I'll try to dig some up from somewhere. Thanks for _all_your support._(to those who didn't act entitled, like wtf?_) Gotta love you guys_–hearts-_

And thank you to my stalker who called me a selfish bitch like 10 times, you made me laugh with all your retarded anonymous reviews(':

_Hilarious!_

I mean you're trying to bully someone from behind a keyboard… LMAO. Like really?

To FanofBellaandEdward: Aweee: aren't you sweet? Did your parents tuck you in a tin of chocolate when you were younger? *the answer is yes (;

Psst, A Single Fragile Rose… I love you too ;3

With that said—let's read some Element. (I'll keep my promise)

**Element**

Naruto had heard of the push pull strategy. Researched it, studied it, memorized it.

It was technique that businesses used to decide what products clients wanted the most. How exactly did that relate to him and his downward spiral?

Well, something like this: Sasuke was the client.

He was the product.

And Sakura was the business associate who was trying to sell his worth to the client… who seemed genuinely interested.

Sasuke was genuinely interested in the product.

Wait, wait. What? Sasuke was interested in him?

That had a negative connotation… He ought to rephrase that if he wanted to get through _this_ doozy of a day.

**Correction:** Sasuke was interested in establishing a positive bond with him.

He wasn't interested with him like that… that was… someone else.

Realizing his thoughts were prepared to consume him like a famished lion, he hurled himself onto his liberal Queen sized bed, and tried to stop thinking so much. But he slipped up, finally recognizing the time Sasuke left last night. He didn't leave return to his apartment until sometime after three. Even though he offered to put Sasuke up for the night like a gentleman should, Sasuke politely declined and left anyway. He suppressed the urge to insist that Sasuke stay until morning broke. To avoid sounding pushy, he didn't bother voicing his opinion. He still thought that it was much too late to drive. Masking the odd disappointment, he offered to walk Sasuke to his car, an offer he did accept.

Trying to keep his oath to reframe from over thinking, he immediately snapped to an open state of mind when he heard his phone go off. He rolled to the bronze duvet, he contemplatively answered the phone.

"Hey, Naruto! Supp with you?" The feminine voice piped into the phone like Tweety bird.

Naruto effortlessly cracked a smile. "Nothing, I just got up. How about you? I'm assuming good by your chipper tone."

"Well, that's because I am," She sighed, sounding like she was stretching out an early morning knot. "Happy to be alive, Naru."

"Got laid last night?" Naruto chuckled.

She hissed her teeth, her thunderous temper already booming. "Shut up—did not… Hey, before I forget to ask."

"Yeah?" Naruto balanced up on his elbows, noting the elimination of jest in her voice. "Did you get it?"

"Uhhh," Naruto narrowed his bright blue eyes. "Did I get what?"

"Sasuke's gift!" She exclaimed.

Naruto smirked, wishing the slight blush creeping onto his cheeks would take a fucking hike. How was he supposed to concentrate if he kept thinking about how sweet a gesture it was?

"Umm, yeah. I did. He brought it over last night," Naruto informed—in recognizably fond tone. Fuck.

"Oh really? You liked the cake though, right?"

Had Sakura seen the 'peace offering' that Sasuke bought for him?

To him, it sounded like she was oblivious to the bulk of the plan. She must have only known the outskirts.

"Yeah, it was amazing," Naruto said in a low voice, _knowing_he was overthinking again.

"Glad you liked it."

"Thanks, flower."

"Shut the hell up, assface," Sakura snarled. "So annoying…"

"Love youuuuuu."

"I hate you."

"Yeah well, the feeling's mutual."

Sakura laughed, sighing. "So you're not mad at Sasuke anymore…righttttt?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Nooo, I'm not mad but I still might castrate him though."

"Hey, that's not fa—"

"I'm kidding—we're cool."

"Excellent! Quick question though."

"Fire away," Naruto grunted, closing his eyes and rolling onto his back onto the bed outstretching his free left hand to the ceiling.

"What time did Sasuke leave your place?"

Naruto's eyes shot open like elevator door.

Was this some kind of set up or some type of trick question?

"…Why?"

"I called him at like 11 and he didn't answer. I was wondering if you knew where he was, you know?" She asked irritatedly. Did she think Sasuke had ignored her and traded her company for someone else's? Heh heh, his? "He was supposed to come over like an hour before that."

Naruto intended to hand back from rushing waters. He wasn't going to let her forge targets on his back. "I don't know where Sasuke went… He disappeared long before 11."

A little white lie couldn't hurt, right?

"Oh… Are you sure?"

Naruto bit his lip, praying Sasuke would corroborate his story. "Yeah."

"Okay… I guess he went to bed or something."

"Probably," Naruto uneasily agreed, knowing damn well that he had no business accepting Sasuke's movie offer.

_Out of line._

"Mm, well you have class soon, right?"

"_Unnnnn_fortunately." He had nearly forgotten that he had to be somewhere around 9:30. Damn end of college lag. He couldn't wait until they handed him his diploma, so he could run right off stage and all the hell the way home. Four years of studying one stupid thing—his major—and then four years of studying one stupid thing—his minor—was becoming cumbersome. He just wanted to get this over and done with so he could move on with life. At least until he had to tackle his master. Wasn't trying to better yourself easy?

"Then you should be getting _**ready**_," Sakura melodically sang, prompting Naruto to get ready for the day.

…

Naruto finished his both his business and management class with about half an hour to spare. With midterms weeks creeping up quickly, his professors blew off class early, but not before assigning a shitload of work. Taking the small reprieve with little resolve, Naruto instantly thought about going to Sakura's to hang out like they planned about two weeks ago. He couldn't even remember the last time they exclusively spent time together. Their schedules never meshed because she was a fulltime on call waitress. He was currently submerged in his specialization classes making it difficult for them to find time for one another. Maybe today would be the day he could make up for all that by buying her something nice. Recently, he had gotten a raise at his assistant job at the Marriot downtown, which left a little wiggle room for a small gift.

Sasuke probably bought her so many gifts that she didn't have anywhere to fit them all. Even so, he wasn't going let that stop him from getting her something special from his best friend. He loved her but it was a different type of love. It was a platonic love.

Hopefully, when he came over, Sakura would be ready to go. He was down to so some store stopping; possibly bless her with a new wardrobe. He had prepared by filling his gas tank to the brim and had taken a few hundred out of the bank. They had molded over the details via text so hopefully everything would go smoothly. Tonight they would have fun, in spite of the small drift they had been experiencing in the recent months, more so in the past few weeks. They would catch Maybe they could catch up and regain lost ground.

He felt his smirk droop when he realized the driveway wasn't free but occupied with one of Sasuke's numerous cars.

Uh, why was Sasuke here?

She never said anything about Sasuke coming? Did he decide to come last minute or something?

Shrugging it off, Naruto got out and knocked on Sakura's door.

She answered with a small smile, pinching her earlobe with a dangling earring in tow. "Hey."

Naruto falsely smiled, stepping into the foyer, as the low spinning ceiling fan light illuminating Sakura's partially dressed figure. The drooping straps fell off her shoulders as she waltzed back into the house, the unzipped flap of the violet dress staying wide open as warred with her pierced earhole and the uncooperative earring.

"Hey, um, are you ready?" Naruto asked, as he advanced into the house, seeing an unperturbed Sasuke on the couch, garbed in simple white button down shirt, and black slacks. His blue eyes ate up the sliver of milky white skin visible near his collar like a ravenous monster that hadn't been fed in a matter of weeks. He wished he hadn't made his fascination so obvious.

Dark lashes that once kissed their sand white mounds, lifted, forcing blue eyes to swirl into controlling ashy grey eyes. Naruto squirmed, jittering underneath his clothes as a tangible connection formed instantly. The dark haired man sat a little taller, his interest level peaking, all the previous negativity allaying. Detained by the insidious smirk and the unflinching stare, Naruto couldn't prevent the boiling passion that felt like a fervid fire, scorch his skin.

The blond shattered the dangerous gaze in order to save himself from the brink of sanity. But it was too late.

Sakura had already regarded Sasuke's satisfied appearance with a mounting inquisitiveness. Not too long ago, Sasuke was sulking. But like a rain shower after a yearlong drought, Sasuke's attentiveness was restored by Naruto's arrival.

What was going on with him?

She'd never seen anyone look so passionate in their life, not even married couples like her parents. It was extremely alarming. She didn't know whether to feel jealous that Naruto pulled the life out of Sasuke or angry that Sasuke wasn't happy with her presence alone. She saw Naruto shed a shameful expression and she suddenly pursed her lips as a plague of envy replaced all rational thought.

Naruto slowly lifted a brow. Sakura didn't want to answer… The sucker punch was coming.

"Um, about that… Can we do that another time? Sasuke and I were planning on going to that new restaurant that opened on 4th Ave," Sakura finally explained, pushing in the stubborn earring, partially puncturing her second partially closed hole.

Naruto fumbled with his unspoken words, his mind stumbling over Sakura's detachment. She'd just canceled their friend date. "What do you mean, 'another time'? We planned this two weeks ago!"

"Sorry, Naruto," She turned from Sasuke to Naruto, no sympathy saturating her green eyes. "It just came u—"

"If it just came up, you could have called. I drove all the way here only to find out that you don't want to go." Naruto raised his voice, his nostrils flaring as his dormant temper climbed out its sealed case.

"Naruto, it's not that serious. You're always around, we can go another time," She muttered in a dismissive fashion, turning her back to Naruto, popping her second earring in.

Naruto felt a strange numbness scramble inside him as he glanced at the heels lying on their side on the carpet, and up to an uncomprehendingly empathetic Sasuke. His lips quivered like he wished to speak out in the dim room but he seemed to be adhering to the small confrontation. Naruto wanted Sasuke to support him but he seemed to be concurrently revoke him as well.

It was really happening. She was really replacing him; slowly moving Sasuke into his position until he finally disappeared into the woodwork.

Sasuke, frozen on the couch, absorbed the hurt impaled on Naruto's gorgeous face. The blond male took one last glimpse at Sakura, storming out. "Fuck this."

Sakura didn't mind the deafening slam of the front door when Sasuke followed him. she paused and turned, her pink curls caressing her shoulder blades.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" Her question went unanswered. Her only reply was the meeting of the door hinges.

Naruto raced down the cement pathway to his car, willing his legs to reach there faster.

Why the fuck was Sakura behaving this way?

What did he do to deserve that?

Feeling like he was being bombarded with too many angry questions, his mood deteriorated further as his name was called by a husky voice.

He spun around to see a concerned Sasuke close behind him. "I—"

"What did you tell her?"

"What?" Sasuke narrowed his beautiful eyes, resting his hands in his pockets. "I didn't tell her anything. Why would you think I did?"

Naruto gazed into Sasuke's eyes, setting back, shaking his head of golden spikes. "Look, just because you're Sakura's boyfriend and she trusts you, doesn't mean that I do. Because I don't," Naruto ground out, blindly forcing a sword of hurt straight into Sasuke's chest with his combative words. His blue eyes that didn't seem to believe what they were saying but he still lashed out, slicing with each word. "And don't ever expect me to."

Walking away before Sasuke could rebuff, Naruto dug out for his phone and opened a fresh message, typing, 'Hey, can I come over?' and left the contact space blank until he got into the car.

…

"Thank you for listening." Naruto sighed, nuzzled his face into a broad shoulder, melting into the heat of arms that he wished could never release him. A puddle of love pooled onto Naruto's face as he smiled, fondly rolling red strands on the pads of his fingers. His lax limbs were carelessly tangled, into the other man's as their warmth was easily swapped. "What would I do without you…?" He whispered, ghosting his fingers over the pale male's strong shoulder.

A pair of native lips tenderly traced Naruto's pulse, tickling the excited skin, obliterating the blond's temporary emotional snags along with his train of thought. Within about three seconds, his free fingers traveled to the creamy caramel skin within his reach, the curve of his arm, the small his back, and the taut abs. All pleasantries that put Naruto _in a certain mood.__ A sensual mood. _

A wispy release of air displayed Naruto's evident contentment.

He was happy he had a place of refuge when he was scared, unhappy, and angry. If he didn't have Gaara as a buffer, he wouldn't be here right now.

"However will I decide where to lick you first?" Gaara needled, unexpectedly reeling Naruto in.

He giggled as his fingers skittered on the back of Gaara's neck, seeking shelter there as he raised his beautiful lips to Gaara's ear. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

"Is that your final answer?" He muttered, his deep, smoky voice effectively resonating in Naruto's head, reflecting off his skin.

"Yes, sir," Naruto purred, pulling away from Gaara, as the friction from his smoldering eyes aroused the redhead immensely. Oh, God, the things he wanted to do to him.

Naruto created his own space by liberating himself the red haired man. Then like an eager child on Christmas morning, he spotted his one true love and smiled.

Gaara trailed Naruto's endearing gape to the cold Swedish rum layered in condensation on the cocktail table. "Want the rest of the bottle?"

Naruto felt his body loosen in relief on the futon. "Aw, you know me so well."

…

Sasuke bypassed the use of the doorbell, Sasuke banged on the apartment door, feeling like it would get him a quicker response than a stupid doorbell would.

When he tried yesterday evening, he didn't get an answer. Naruto didn't seem to be home. He must have been somewhere, with someone else, _doing_something else.

Most likely, he was with that freak Gaara, doing God knows what.

Just thinking about it made him want to smash his face in. Naruto thought that this monster was the only person he could trust. And if it weren't for Sakura childishness, he wouldn't have to resort to Gaara's attention…because he already had his.

But Naruto seemed irrevocably pissed at _them_ for what happened and he understood. He would be too if his best friend suddenly ditched him for a new boytoy. He wasn't referring, to himself as a boytoy. It was merely an expression.

It seemed that he was the one trying to march in and separate them. But that wasn't the case. Sadly, it was a misunderstanding.

Sakura had tried to blast him for not answering her call, but he quickly shut her down. He thoroughly reassured her wasn't out entertaining another _female_but at his apartment trying to get some shut eye. He explained that he made one trip to Naruto's home and then returned straight home. Without exploring the heavy details, she discontinued arguing and suggested they go out to dinner tonight irrespective of the fact she had previous plans with Naruto.

Although she was playing nice, she thought their "truth" was punctured with the simple logic that she received no reply from Naruto's phone as well.

This petty experience wasn't fruitless. He learned that Sakura was extremely jealous. From the get go he was aware of the malice Sakura exhibited. She exiled Naruto out of revenge and tried to cage him in. As a result, he left her alone, leaving company of loneliness. No dinner. No romantic time.

Her Vindictiveness wasn't attractive. Nor was it welcome, especially when it singlehandedly undid all the ground he gained with Naruto.

All he wanted to do was apologize.

If Naruto would let him, he just wanted a few seconds of his time.

He repetitiously pounded on the door again.

There was slight thudding inside the apartment. "Fuck, I said, I'm coming!"

Suddenly, the door was yanked open and Sasuke came face to face with angelic features. He saw the curious blue eyes peak from behind door's security. They roved over Sasuke's serious expression.

He huffed and pursed his lips, deciding his cynical joke would have to wait until later. Sasuke didn't seem very interested in laughing right about now.

Sasuke wedged himself into the door and strolled in without a proper invitation, friskily occupying the foyer. "Look, Naruto, I wanted to—" The door peacefully closed behind Sasuke. He turned around to Naruto's towel clad dripping wet body. Thankfully the fluffy white drying utensil obscured the most _revealing_ parts. More of his graceful, curvaceous legs were better exposed when he laid flat against the door. He innocently made contact with Sasuke's eye contact with his lustfully demonic eyes. Water carefully slithered from every square inch of Naruto's body, creating a small pool on the slick foyer. Saturated blond strands clung to the smooth mocha treat's forehead, torturing Sasuke to no end. He gulped down what spit did lie in his parched mouth, feeling like every area but his aching cock.

Toned arms held the towel up to his chest, tilting his head, pondering Sasuke's hanging sentence.

He had something to say, right?

Stopping and trying to breath, trying to push the apology out of his mouth, Sasuke wondered why his life was so _**fucking**_ difficult.

…

Heheheheheh. Heh. Heh. Don't shoot me. Bullets hurt.


	5. Chapter 5

I apologize, I've been **sickkkkk**. That happens a lot & I profusely apologize /:

Please forgive me and take this chapter as compensation for my short absence.

Thank you everyone –kisses-especially FanofBellaandEdward. Thank you so much doll (:

Hopefully, the local mortician could tell him what his cause of death was. He couldn't tell whether it was the piking curiosity in those direly blue eyes, or the slick tint to the beautiful copper skin, or those pouty velvet lips, or the itsy bitsy towel concealing his searching gaze, or possibly the fact that he was a few feet and a few seconds from taking what he believed was rightfully his.

He was still confused. Did this encounter constitute a murder charge, or was it a wrongful death suit?

Sasuke whisked the thought away and swallowed the wad of mistrust balled in his throat.

Why was this happening to _him_?

_How_ in the hell could this happen to him?

All he wanted to do was apologize for Sakura's absurd actions, not to cop a feel from her best friend.

Although it would be an _excellent_ pastime, it wasn't his intention.

He tried to firmly configure his irresolute brain waves so he could try to manage to shake the image in front of him. Not the easiest task in the world, but at least he was putting some effort behind it.

"Hello!" Naruto wailed, pushing his slippery body off the door. "You had something to tell me!? Are you gonna spit it out or are you just gonna stand there!?"

Sasuke slid his hand over his face, frustrated. "Naruto, go put some clothes on," He muttered in a low dangerous tone.

Naruto frowned. "Uh, no," He hissed. "Tell me what you were going to tell me. It's not like you haven't seen a guy naked before." Naruto rolled his eyes and scoffed, Sasuke's obvious distress not soaking in.

"Naruto, just go put on some clothes," Sasuke urged as his right hand flew in the air.

"No! Not until you tell me what you were going to say!" Naruto retorted rebelliously, his cheeks flaring red. He walked up to Sasuke, getting too close for the Uchiha's comfort. "What were you going to tell me?"

In a flurry of quick movements and a loud thump, Naruto was trapped between Sasuke's arms, fear lightly daubing his soft features.

"Naruto, I'm not going to tell you again. Put on your clothes, or I _won't_ be responsible for what happens to _you_." The Uchiha's insidious eyes protruded through Naruto's gate of insistence. The small blond shook like a flag as the room's temperature drop to a new metaphorical low. His damp lips fell open as his found Sasuke's sexual implication dangerous. He was doubtful of Sasuke's implication, so he stared with his evident surprise.

"Do we understand each other?" Sasuke asked in the base of his throat.

Naruto could hear Sasuke's nails digging into the wall, literally resisting his lusty alter ego's contribution in his sinister reaction.

Realizing that Sasuke was really serious, he only pathetically nodded, as he to the bathroom, inadvertently giving Sasuke a sneak peek of his golden globes that deserved a golden globe, better yet an Oscar.

Sasuke clapped his hands then rubbed them together, trying to chill the fuck out before he incidentally followed Naruto to his private quarters, pinned him down, and consequently raped him. It would be classified as rape at this point because Naruto would not be a willing participant. Maybe one day, but not now. He had to stop himself now because the timing was off. He needed better timing.

He hissed his teeth, massaged his forehead, and plopped himself into the couch.

Better luck next time.

Secretly, he damned his self-control. He knew he could have kissed Naruto and probably touched him in the perfect manner convincing him to eventually concede into a sensual act. But, unfortunately, when he considered what Naruto said yesterday, his conscious made him take the high road.

And he thought about Sakura. Periodically. She was an afterthought nowadays. And strangely, he didn't feel too guilt-ridden about it either.

But Naruto, that was a different story. A different fairytale. A different fantasy. One that he had to experience for himself or he would never be satisified.

"Wait!" Naruto shot back to the couch, his towel still stretched around him. With an apologetic glance, Naruto stopped at the sofa arm. "You're sitting on my phone."

Suppressing a flick of embarrassment (for Uchiha's do not feel embarrassed), Sasuke attempted to move but before he could Naruto shoved his hand underneath his ass and salvaged his phone with a small smirk.

"Nice buns." A soft giggle pleated Sasuke's plate of seriousness as Naruto walked away to get dressed by Sasuke's request—demand.

At least in the process, Sasuke discovered his ass was compliment worthy. Who knew?

…

Naruto quickly returned in blue gym shorts and a white t-shirt, completely impasse about the entire incident. He immediately wrote Sasuke's outburst off as one of his many mental episodes. Naruto wondered if he wished on a lucky star, if he could avoid calling the "happy hotel" to cart away this fucking lunatic. In the meantime, he would just have to keep his fingers crossed as the madman sat on his couch.

He stood in front of Sasuke like he did a few nights ago when he asked him to the movies a few days ago, waiting for Sasuke to expel his failure of words.

"So what is that you want? I'm fully clothed _this_ round so you don't have to worry about being distracted by a _naked_ body. Which is strange, because it's not like I was planning on stripping for you or anything. Or would you have liked something along those lines? Because that can be arranged—"

"Stop talking… just shut the fuck up." Sasuke gravely gawked at Naruto, interweaving his fingers tightly. "I didn't come here to hear _you_ talk. I came here to talk to you."

Naruto puffed up like a puffer fish and crossed his arms.

It was like he was intentionally pushing Sasuke's imaginary buttons. Since when was he not able to take a stupid joke? There was no seriousness behind his sarcasm, so why was this Uchiha getting all uptight?

Damn. It had to be in the bloodline.

Or in his apartment building's water. But how was he to know?

"Then can you just say it already so you can stop—" Naruto waved his hand at Sasuke's likeness. "occupying my personal space?"

"I _could _get more personal by occupying your bedroom," Sasuke said, setting forward on his knees.

Naruto's natural shade drained and flooded with a wash of red. "That'll never happen," Naruto muttered, scorning Sasuke's comment, internally panicking.

"You say that now. But we can always retreat—" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Sasuke—why are you here? Can we please just start there?" Naruto interrupted embarrassed.

"I came here to apologize." Sasuke said, emptying all humor from his posture.

Naruto's shoulders dropped and his arms slowly unfolded. "Apologize for what?" He asked softly, suspecting there was some invisible punchline approaching from the horizon. Was Sasuke seriously here to apologize to him or was he just trying to deceive him into trusting him?

As he patted his upper arm gently, he switched his footing. He subconsciously connected with Sasuke in a manner that should have made him inherently uncomfortable. Only, it didn't.

"What? What do you mean apologize? For what?"

"For Sakura's stupidity. Unfortunately, she's my _perpetual_ responsibility and if she doesn't apologize, I _will_."

Sasuke's candor suddenly caused yards of ruins. Naruto tried to dissuade his emotions and tried to not like Sasuke so much but it was so hard. His realness and his honesty stunned him so much that it didn't appear authentic.

"You shouldn't be apologizing for her," Naruto muttered turbulently.

The aerobics of Naruto's troubling trust issues performed on his gorgeous face. Sasuke felt the urge to reach out and hold him for all the things that were hurting him and had hurt him. He just wanted to soothe all his pain and leave the grieving to the mourners.

Obviously, Sakura had hurt him deeply but she wasn't trying to fix it, something that was worth fixing. Her blind jealously was contributing her to stupid choices, like hacking an ax into Naruto's back. He had angered her but she taken out on Naruto. The backlash ruined the baby steps they had taken toward a pliable relationship that would ultimately benefit her. She was constantly contradicting herself when it came to what she wanted from them. She was only getting more jealous after her suspicions peaked.

He supposed it was his fault. He didn't tell that he planned to take Naruto out to the movies. Even so, that didn't excuse the mega bitch episode. Her congeniality limitations were finally exposed.

Naruto seemed to have open ears but he still apparently, required further convincing, so he pressed on.

"But I do," Sasuke insisted, grabbing Naruto's hand, delicately running his thumb over the back of his hand. "Come here."

Half-muddled with confoundment and half-muddled with respect, Naruto followed Sasuke's physical guide to the couch, beside him.

'He's such a gentleman,' Naruto thought with a teetering sigh. It made him want to roll over like a dog but with his pride as a strong barrier to keep that prevent that formality from happening.

"Naruto, you say it's not my place to apologize but that's just not true. If I made you feel uncomfortable, then it is my place to rectify your uneasiness. I know you think that I conducted some unethical, untrustworthy maneuvering behind your back. But that couldn't be further from the truth. I would never do that—I'm not jealous of your place in Sakura's life. We share different roles but at the same time it's one and the same—to make her happy." Sasuke's veracity was more than just convincing; it was satisfying.

Thankfully, it wasn't Sasuke who was trying to raze Sakura's utopia, it was Sakura herself.

Ashamed of his rashness, Naruto wished he hadn't gotten drunk at Gaara's that night.

Instead of spouting pointlessly hateful things, he should have listened to what Sasuke had to say. He owed him that much.

Regrettably, he had the tendency to shut people out and guard himself with titanium walls. It was impossible for anyone to pilot around, including Sasuke.

He felt stupid for overreacting. Maybe he should apologize for his eruption of misdirected frustration.

"It makes you feel any better—I didn't go anywhere with her," Sasuke revealed, completely gaging Naruto's kneejerk reaction to what was said. To Sasuke's pleasure, it appeared positive.

Naruto absently blinked. Sasuke was so upset that he canceled their date?

…What?

Secretly grinning on the inside, he enjoyed the jolting spark Sasuke's gentle caress created.

"You, you didn't go out with her?" Naruto tepidly questioned.

"No, she didn't deserve it."

As he reframed from hollering 'thank you' at the top of his lungs, Naruto felt Sasuke's steady stroke stride onto his index finger.

"You didn't have to—"

"Well, I did. Naruto, look at me." The blond did as he was told. "I would have never done that to you. Frankly you don't deserve that."

Naruto believed every word that he said. Either Sasuke's tongue was crafted of winning wisdom or he had a magnetic anchor tied to the end of it. Whatever it was, it was working.

It made him like him even more.

He was trying to stay away.

Sadly, however he cut the cheese, he couldn't do that.

And it fucking scared him.

So much.

"I don't want to dwell on it anymore. Now that it's covered, I think we should go to the city fair."

…

The beautiful sky was peppered a beautiful silver as they walked in its radiant glow, and through the entrance of the carnival. Fluctuating humid ripples embraced them as the bustled on the concrete jungle. Live packs of ecstatic children scrabbled along the open area, with responsible adults minding them. Their loud laughs and large smiles awakened a pang of jealousy in Naruto as gazed upon their playful activities.

The fresh smell of gourmet cuisines and newly made candy exposed memories that Naruto preferred to keep buried. But he wasn't able to. The fiery but recognizable pain still settled on the surface no matter how hard he tried to shove it back into the cork.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke shamefully. He only brought him here because he felt sorry for him. These attendees were here to have fun with the people they loved, not people they pitied.

Naruto didn't know why he let Sasuke lug him here. He knew that Sasuke felt guilty. It made him not want to come. He wasn't obligated to compensate for her. Like he said, she didn't deserve such kindness. But that was Sasuke, always reaching out to people who didn't deserve it. People just like him.

Feeling seriously dejected, he slouched through the gate Sasuke sullenly looking at Sasuke. Sasuke saw the look at Naruto's face and then positioned his hand on the small of his back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sasuke whispered.

Naruto shook his head and wanly smiled. "N-nothing. I'm fine," he lied as they fed into the larger crowd.

Sasuke didn't seem to buy it but let it go. He couldn't tell Naruto to cheer up. That would be cheap and meaningless. He would need to show that Naruto that he needed to be happy.

"Did you see anything you want to try?" Sasuke asked, moving away the hand that Naruto liked having there.

He glanced around momentarily and set his sights on the ball-dunk near the large drawing raffle in the center of the fair. He lowly hummed, biting his lips and sifting through his options. Finally, his interests emerged, when he spotted the blank firing game. That **one**. He _had_ to win that **one**!

"That one! 'Less do that one!" Naruto looked at Sasuke with juvenile jubilation and grabbed his elbow. Sasuke smirked with a nod as they headed over. Naruto examined the game and verified this was the game he wanted to play. With Naruto's confirmation, Sasuke purchased a roll of tickets for Naruto's dispense. The blond teen fessed up two tickets. The opportunity to embark on the journey of obtaining a prize was once in a lifetime and he was going make the best of it.

"If you shoot three in a row, you can win one of our prizes," The young woman said with a smile, her stance showcasing the game. Absorbed, Naruto ogled the prizes. Teddy bears, distinctive Seattle paper weights, precious glasses of the Mariners, et cetera.

He awkwardly handled the false firearm barrel. He had never held anything that resembled a gun before. This was an entirely new experience, one that he planned to embrace.

He fingered trigger and took the first shot. Sasuke stood behind Naruto as he finished a round of shots. The moving target rotated and Naruto failed at hitting anything.

He cursed and placed the gun down.

Okay, he never held a gun before but this was just _great_. He had a better chance of hitting his foot. But in all likelihood, he would probably miss that too.

As he groaned in frustration, a pool of warmth accumulated at his sides, and the gun rose back to the moving targets. "Don't give up, Naruto. You just need to focus—it's not that hard," Sasuke's smoky voice skirted against the shell of Naruto's ear as his index finger covered Naruto's, his body shielding his back, fitting perfectly. Sasuke covered the barrel of the gun with his left hand, his hand brushing Naruto's warm one.

"Use the scope… Aim." Naruto lowered a single blue eye to the scope as Sasuke balanced the weapon and moved it slightly to the left. A deep flush crawled up the back of Naruto neck as Sasuke helped him shoot the targets flat on their back, one at a time.

"One." They shot one. "Two." They shot two. "Three." The third target fell, they completed their task.

As Naruto exhaled like a raggedy air conditioner, he felt Sasuke's fingers press over his own in a rather intimate manner. His cheeks warmed further and Sasuke pressed closer against the comfort of his spine. He fit so well behind him that he felt like the missing ingredient to the perfect recipe. He moved his hand away from the warm grip of the trigger. He tried to level his breathing when Sasuke's lips grazed his ear. A spontaneous feeling blossomed in his lower stomach and flourished in his soul.

Sasuke shifted his palms onto his sides and held him there, suggesting to everyone that they were more than what they _knew _they were.

Onlookers clapped at the sheer victory, glad to see that they had won the event so easily. "What prize do you want?" Sasuke confidentially whispered in Naruto's ear, scooping out the prizes himself.

A hot rush burned on his cheeks as he found the courage to glimpse at the cool, unaffected Sasuke. "Um, maybe the frog—the really big one."

"Can _we _have the frog, the one in the back, please?"

The woman nodded and gave Naruto the frog.

Naruto held the stuffed creature and slapped the protruding pink tongue, he fell in love. Those yellow-black eyes, his yellow belly, and that green coating… Jeez, could he get any more perfect?

He strangled the innocent toy with brute force, squealing like a newborn pig. "I LOVEEEEE it! I'm gonna do everything with it. I'm going to shower with it, cook with it, sleep with it…!"

Sasuke smirked as he quietly commented behind the commotion. "Wow, I'm _actually_ jealous."

Naruto stopped shaking the prized possession like a rag doll and turned around to Sasuke cutely. Sasuke blinked, not expecting Naruto to hear him so clearly. "Really?"

Sasuke captured the rosy radiance dartling on Naruto's cheeks in the darkness only flooded by limited effulgence. As His sparkling grin spread across his face, Sasuke felt from their joint achievement slightly exonerated him from causing Naruto pain.

"Really," Sasuke admitted.

"Aw," Naruto uttered sympathetically, "We can arrange something so everyone feels included."

Loosely, Naruto held the frog around the neck, vivaciously smiling at Sasuke. "Does that sound good?"

Sasuke's face shattered into a smile. "Excellent. We'll take care of our son to the best ability."

"Oh, yes our son will need our love and support to turn into a fruitful member of society." Naruto laughed. Kids? Him and Sasuke? Oh, hell no, never in a million light years.

If anything, he would be the one taking care of him and Sakura's baby(s).

It never legitimately crossed his mind. The whole thing was a gag.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's lustrous ebony hair, his glistening cinereal eyes, and the powdery white skin that was a perfect as enamel. He slowly felt butterflies breed in his tummy.

He had to admit, they _would _make pretty babies.

He didn't mean anything by it. It was just a conclusion.

Maybe a bad one… But still just a simple conclusion.

They departed from the wooden stand and explored the nearby gazebos. In a strange turn of events, Sasuke ended up carrying the large frog in his arms as Naruto walked freely.

Sasuke quietly groaned as his eyebrow twitched. How the hell did end up carrying this stupid toy?

"Oh my gosh, let's sign up for this!" Naruto wounded Sasuke by hitting him in the stomach. He stumbled, missing what Naruto said before he ran off.

Sasuke looked over the frog's head and rolled his eyes. This was harder than chaperoning a hyperactive, ADHD, child that was also suffering from a sugar rush.

This little teen was from one extreme from the next.

Taking in all the air he needed, he followed Naruto.

"We should sign up!" Naruto called behind him, snagging the pen off the glass case. Sasuke lowered the stuffed animal to see what Naruto was writing.

"Sassske Uchi-cakes." Naruto wrote on the slip with a triumphant smile.

Sasuke felt a headache come on as he said, "That's not my name."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with a question mark floating in his irises. "That's what I imagine your name to be."

"That's glorious but IN REALITY that's not what my name is," Sasuke falsely entertained his flash of imagination.

"Are you implying that I live in my own _alternate _reality and don't have any knowledge of what's occurring in the real universe and that I need to be locked into away from civilization, preferably a mental institution?" Naruto asked, putting the pen down.

Sasuke felt an offensive wave come on.

"I'm didn't say that, Naruto," Sasuke answered appalled. "I'm implying that you changed my name to suit your _own_ purposes," Sasuke clarified with a pinch of attitude.

"I did no such thing! I just think your name is better off that way."

Sasuke's dangerous glare made Naruto feel like he could be slaughtered at any passing moment just by the optical connection between them. Scary shit.

The _Uchiha-cake _pushed up the frog under his arm and then starting filling out the slip with vigor.

"What are you-"

"Naruto, Uzu-Macy."

Naruto winced, interlacing his fingers tightly. "That's not my name," he said in a quiet, submissive voice.

"What was that? I didn't quite _catch_ that." Sasuke condescendingly leaned his ear closer.

"That-" Naruto exhaled. "That's not my name," He said louder.

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Sasuke asked, burying his smirk in an attempt effectively teach Naruto a lesson about mutual respect, obviously something that he lacked.

Naruto deflated and slowly shook his head.

"Good," Sasuke said folding up both the slips and shoving them into the box. Naruto witnessed the act and gasped.

"Sasuke, I'm _sorry_. Why'd you do that!?" Naruto pouted and puffed his cheeks.

"So you'll learn."

Sasuke felt like his heart was on the verge of bursting and splattering against his ribcage as he peered down at the beautiful teen. Was it even possible for him to be basking in something so perfect? It was like he was a small Greek God, fallen from grace was searching for his path back to purity and righteousness, detoured from where he was destined to be.

Sasuke's realigned his focus.

Naruto was obviously on a poor path.

…Gaara.

He didn't know anything about the guy but he had a bad feeling about him. He doubted his feelings were mistaken. Usually, when he had an inkling about some of the _characters _he came across, he was right.

As far as he was concerned, Gaara was a consuming, infectious, malicious tumor that needed to be removed.

Although it was unconfirmed, it was just an inkling.

He had a feeling he was right.

After leaving the small glass booth, they avoided migrating fair goers and made it to the food venue. Naruto purchased two enormous wads of cotton candy that were bigger than head for eight dollars.

"I won't be held responsible for your diagnosis of diabetes."

A tongue that was intertwined with the sugary treat poked out at Sasuke. "You bought the tickets—so technically, you're my enabler."

"You would find _some way_ to make this _my_ fault." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Naruto nodded. "Damn straight. It's not my fault that you're a hater."

Still holding the large toy, he looked at him as he walked away. "And how the hell did you reach that conclusion?"

"Because…" Naruto stopped him in place, getting on his toes in worn Chucks. "You contracted diabetes the moment you met me," Sasuke paused as Naruto startled him with his boisterous laughter. "I'm just too sweet for you!" He continued laughing like a maniac.

"What's wrong, _baby_? You look like you seen a ghost." Naruto chuckled, saving the Patrick Swayze joke, inadvertently ignoring the all telltale signs one would need to heed about human attraction.

Was Naruto beaming thoughts out of his head or something?

Did he find out about… he didn't even want to say it in his head. Naruto just might hear him…

"Awe, I'm right. It's okay." Naruto caringly patted his cheek. "People have told me I'm too sweet to handle."

"Did they also tell you you're head rivals the size of the Earth and all the seven planets combined?" Sasuke safely countered, rigidly striding away.

Naruto's eyes fleeted toward the sky. "Wait, what do you mean by that!? Hey, get back here!"

Naruto juggled his cotton candy, trying to catch up to Sasuke.

Strolling next to Sasuke, Naruto pouted at him, only to be ignored by the taller man.

"Stop—" Naruto was interrupted by an icecream cone on the ground that belonged to a young baby in a hooded stroller. A piercing shriek unified with the countless sounds strewn in the background. Naruto gasped and quickly moved to soothe the child and console the distressed mother.

"Little guy," Naruto smoothly coerced, shocked to find it only elicited a scratchier screech. Biting his lip, Naruto indecisively looked at the dirty blonde mother who glanced around to see who noticed her usually bright child misbehaving. She absently pushed her curly, unkempt hair behind her ear and half-smiled at the duo that headed her stroller. "I'm sorry… Sometimes, he gets like this. He's quite… clumsy. I theorize he butters his fingers." She nervously laughed, running her hand over her forehead.

Sasuke nodded empathetically as he watched a sympathetic smile play on Naruto's beautiful pink lips. "You'll just have to make him wash his hands more often then."

The Uchiha observed a steadfast connection grow between Naruto and the screaming baby boy in the stroller. Naruto's compassion surfaced as he partially bent down to the child and pinched his cheek. "Don't worry little man. I'll get you some more icecream."

Naruto nudged Sasuke toward the icecream man to their right. Sasuke nodded as they exchanged competitive glares. Both males pulled out cash.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked Sasuke, separating the dollar bill values.

"Counting sheep. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to buy the icecream," Sasuke retorted, pulling a few dollars from his roll of cash.

"Why would you do that?" Naruto scoffed. "I was the one that offered."

"I feel sorry for the kid. He can't keep the icecream in his hands to save his life," Sasuke reasoned.

"I know you saw your reflection of clumsiness in the splattered icecream cone but that doesn't mean you have to extend your generosity where it's not needed," Naruto shot back, about to place his money on the white counter and order the ice cream when Sasuke cut the transaction with a knife.

"I actually saw you."

All life stopped.

"What?!" Naruto crumbled the money in his hand, frightening the timid male white clad man behind the counter.

"You heard me—my pity extended to _you_." Sasuke said with bitter condemnation. Little did he know, that Naruto was about to shoot his quilts.

"Aw, hell nah!"

The cruel bickering session eliminated time they could have spent buying the small baby ice cream. Like street runners with a reputation to prove, they slammed money down on the counter, teeth grinding fingers clenched.

"No, I'm fucking paying for it! Put your mafia money away!"

"Mafia money? If I was in the mafia, do you think you'd still _be breathing_!?" Sasuke yelled, feeling his cool slipping.

The mother blinked incessantly, believing her eyes were fooling her. Were they really arguing over who was going to pay for her son's icecream? Did they think this was necessary, better yet, appropriate?

"I was the one who saw it first!" Naruto screamed.

"I saw it while it happened too, idiot!" Sasuke retorted.

"I don't care what you saw! I offered so I'm _fucking _paying!"

"I'm offering, so let me fucking pay for it!"

"It's okay. _Really_," The mother coached from a distance.

"Stay out of it!" Naruto roared back, causing the woman to flinch. He stepped closer to Sasuke, disrespectfully shoving his finger in his face. "No! You always pay for me! So I should pay for once!"

"So?! Have you ever thought that maybe I _like_ paying for you—?!" Sasuke clipped his comment, suddenly feeling his fuel die out as Naruto's eyes slightly widened.

He liked paying for him? Was that just something he said as an accident or it was a legitimate, Freudian slip?

Naruto quickly shook it off. There was no one way Sasuke, or anyone for that matter would want to willingly be so nice to him. It was probably all a trick to get him give up.

In a Mexican stand-off, they both proposed, "Let's split it," in an unhealthy unison.

Prudently, they placed their money on the counter, their combative stares going well past the icecream battle. "Vanilla icecream cone, two scoops," the two men said together to the rattled icecream man.

The man quickly did as he was told, handing Naruto the cone.

Shortly after, the argument seemed so far in the past, like it never happened. Together, they toddled over to the miserable child presenting the small icecream to the child. A heavy sniffle sounded from the baby as he tried to hold the cone in his tiny hands. "Careful," Naruto warned.

Shaking off the implication that these two might be absolute lunatics, the mother smiled at the nice gesture and watched Naruto commence with her son like there wasn't a soul around.

"You can't drop this, okay? You have to enjoy it until you eat it all up—or until it melts." Naruto smiled, encouraging the baby to smile.

Holding on the side of the carriage, Naruto smiled as he leaned forward and kissed the temple of the baby. Naruto pulled back and ruffled his hair. "Good night, little guy." The baby smiled and held on to the ice cream.

Sasuke shook with reservation—Naruto couldn't know how taken he was with him right now. He would think he's crazy or overzealous or some other unpractical emotion.

He was fairly shocked. Naruto always seemed hardline but he was frighteningly amazing with this baby.

Like he was born to be a parent.

The college student grabbed both bags of cotton candy and balanced back on his feet.

The child's mother clenched the stroller handle tightly. "Thank you too, so much. What can I do to repay you?"

"Nothing, miss. Just _please_, have a good night."

"Well said," Sasuke concurred, his heart still beating as fast as road runner and as hard as a jackhammer.

"Have a good night and may god bless you." She smiled and rolled away with her baby.

Sasuke could feel the vibe of generosity clouding the air, making them both feel as a little bit lighter than they did at the beginning of the day. A little bit kinder.

Wrapping up and decompressing valiant emotions, Sasuke and Naruto took a stroll to a vacant bench.

"You're really good with children… Practice?" Sasuke asked, looking at him conservatively, avoiding showing his utter fascination and peaking fondness.

"No, not really." Naruto lifted his upper lip in deep thought as he supported the cotton candy bags in one arm, the second bag sitting on his free side.

"Maybe, it's just natural," Sasuke deduced, putting the stuffed toy on his free side.

"Yeah… Maybe," Naruto's voice trailed, replicating his unavailable mental state.

Silence reigned supreme—but, shockingly, it wasn't awkward. It was just… comfortable. Just sitting. And for the first time, Naruto could feel the company.

He wasn't alone.

The most dreaded emotion was finally at bay, not gnawing at him like a malignant blackness.

Just silent.

Was it real or was he just mentally manufacturing contentment again like he always did?

He didn't really know.

"So…" The thin plastic crackled against Naruto's fingers, demonstrating his failed attempt at constructing a truly meaningful conversation with Sasuke.

'This isn't awkward… So _please_, don't make this awkward,' Naruto disciplined himself, turning to the older man whose attention was instantly drawn at the sound of his voice. "You really like… Sakura, right?"

Silence followed once more. "I guess."

His enthusiasm could rally an entire nation and create a _brave_ new world…not.

Considering Sakura didn't leave the best impression with Sasuke, it was understandable that he wasn't _passionate _about expressing the dynamics of their relationship with a positive frame of mind.

She was lucky his answer was indefinite and not an outright no like other men would have done.

Naruto snorted. "You're still mad at her, I suppose."

"Yeah," Sasuke answered distantly, not seeming like this was his subject of choice. "I was really repulsed by what I saw."

"Mm," Naruto thoughtfully hummed, eyes running over the throngs of fun the people skittering through the fair were having. "I would be too."

Sasuke glanced at the bronze darling with infinite curiosity—and changed the subject.

"How is this for you?"

"This? You mean the fair and everything?"

"Yeah, do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do. When I was younger, I never really got to go to things like this so it's a change." Naruto looked Sasuke directly in the eyes. "A good one."

Naruto didn't overthink his answer as warmness infiltrated his blue oceans. A tirade of graciousness blanketed the Uchiha that was well deserved.

Sasuke curiously pondered why Naruto didn't attend fairs and carnivals—it seemed right up his alley. Throwing things, reveling in the challenge of competition, behaving like a barbarian, it definitely sounded like the essence of Naruto. But he never attended. Maybe his parents weren't into large crowds and big activities so he never went.

"Good to hear…" Sasuke said watching a child aged about five trip and make lay on the grass. Dumbass.

"Not to harp on the subject, or upset you… but I think this is evidence you can do other positive things besides drinking." Sasuke's imperative gape chambered a hole of shame into Naruto as he looked away—embarrassment cleaving his skin.

Luckily, he didn't lash out. There weren't any harsh consequences for mentioning the one thing that Naruto never willingly wanted to admit. It was a start to helping and healing whatever was broken or needed to be broken.

"I know. _I know_," Naruto muttered lightly, feeling a blast of emotions explode around him, feeling and knowing that Sasuke was there.

Sasuke squeezed Naruto's left shoulder once and Naruto's hand slipped over his as the blond watched his shoes thoughtfully.

The gesture braided the two together—like south and north magnets, as Naruto's sigh shattered so _many _boundaries.

…

After evaluating a few new dishes of food, and conquering some more challenging games, Sasuke prompted himself to take Naruto home. Even though it was a Friday night, it was getting late and they both needed to get home. When he achieved that goal, they stood outside of Sasuke's vehicle, picking and choosing the correct words to form a proper goodbye.

Naruto's eyes scraped the beauty of the stars, like they held the answer they were looking for. He shoved his hands into his pockets, eyes falling back down to the horde of items he had to carry into his apartment.

"Maybe we should do something like this again soon," Sasuke said, leaning against the hood of his Infinity—the third car in his collection.

Naruto smiled warmly. "I'd like that."

"Great." Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, um… listen."

"Listening."

Naruto laughed but then stopped. He was trying to be serious and Sasuke was _not _helping.

"I just wanted to say thank you for taking your time to like, talk to me—take me to something I've never been to before. I really appreciate it," Naruto nervously bit out, Sasuke's intense eyes making this admission all the harder.

"Just—thank you." Naruto stepped closer, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's waist and resting his left cheek against his firm chest.

Overexcited about the hug—Sasuke tried to play it like a cool cucumber, slowly bending down to return the affectionate communication.

Sasuke captured the beautiful blond's wafer of wild berries beneath his nose and automatically Sasuke squeezed a little bit harder, fearing this may never happen again.

He closed his eyes, wishing that by option, Naruto would be in his arms. But something like this wasn't optional.

This was Sakura's best friend and she was his girlfriend. Not the reverse.

He knew that yet, it didn't make anything better.

Naruto sighed, his fingers curling into his back.

The blond felt the ripple in Sasuke's strong back. Suddenly, he couldn't recall a time he had ever felt so safe in anyone's arms, not even Gaara's.

It was so wrong—but God it was so right.

Sasuke's warmth, his scent, his feel… it was something that he always wanted.

Unfortunately, it wasn't his to have. He knew he shouldn't wish Sasuke was his but he couldn't help it. These circumstances made it difficult.

Because he had to admit, he had never encountered such bliss while he was sober.

So comfortable and fulfilled.

Parting like the red sea, they looked into each other's eyes, smoldering with want—with greed.

Sasuke's thumb skimmed the softness of Naruto's lips, wanting to taste them so bad. "Goodnight."

His breath hitch paralyzed, as he touched the back of his hand, "Night."

Upon entering his apartment, Naruto dumped everything on his couch—feeling good. Content. _Without_ liquor.

Finding his comfort zone on the carpet, he replayed the night's events one by one until he was interrupted by his phone buzzing on the table.

Gaara. Offering him to come over.

He stared at it for eternity and for the first time, he didn't reply.

WOOOOOOO—Did you like it ? :D

Foreshadowing of babays. SasuNaru Babays. Kukukuku =j


	6. Chapter 6

Yeah, so my hard drive broke and lost everything… For good this time. All my unfinished stories, pics, etc. I lost what I've written on my 2 other running stories, so I won't be updating them for a while. I only have this story. -_- I have to rewrite the chapters or pay $500 to $1600+ to retrieve my data. I'm not in the fucking writing mood but I updated for those who were waiting. There may be some mistakes in the chapter and for that I apologize.

E|L|E|M|E|N|T

_It had been two days, maybe three._

_He had lost count._

The intricate curvature of the first reward he achieved after he escaped from underneath the disastrous roof of his home _never_ ceased to astound him. The feet's appearance of symbolic ascension is what lured Naruto into the furniture store. The steel embargo on the leg insisted upon the area of initial twisting, making the leg more intricate than perceived. Admiring but ignoring the grand structure, he literally didn't penetrate where his gaze burned a hole. As the irreplaceable table physically captured his current attention's livelihood, he rechanneled his devotion into his outfit for the evening.

After a cleansing shower and spritz of subtle cologne mist, he shimmied into his emerald flannel shirt. After smoothing his dress pants with a warm iron, he climbed one pant leg at a time. Then, he crawled into his casual Stacy Adams. As he fixed his well-earned Tag watch on his slender wrist, he primped in the mirror: crunching his hair in his palms, examining his pouty pink lips, and checking for any unattended blemishes. Smiling at his reflection's groomed appearance, winking, he hoped he looked impressive by societal standards but more importantly, by Sasuke's standards. He wasn't particularly nervous, but he was unusually anxious. He didn't want to call it a date, but he couldn't find any other fitting words to accurately describe it.

An acquaintance going out? That would be a better way to appropriate the occasion, rather than trying to pull the pig out of the blanket but that wasn't the way Sasuke framed the invite.

He charmingly said, _"How about I take you out?"_

Even though Naruto had limited experience with relationships, he knew that you only said to someone you had romantic, at least sexual intentions with.

Either way, Naruto didn't mind. He wasn't going to turn _Sasuke_ down.

Which was becoming more noticeable these days. Especially by Gaara. He complained that he never had any time to spend with him lately. But it wasn't on purpose. Since the city fair, he and Sasuke had spent more time together. It wasn't on purpose. They just clicked.

There was something about Sasuke. Like scuba diver canvasing the ocean, he had this innate desire to explore him. He couldn't help it but he didn't feel obligated to apologize for it either. Sasuke treated him a _Hawaiian_ "princess" and he didn't plan on surrendering that so easily.

_Even though he occasionally thought about Sakura_.

He hadn't spoken to her in a while. Every time she called he turned off his phone off, and when she text him, he ignored the messages.

She was acting like this was going to be an easy fix, but it wasn't. She had to learn her lesson somehow. Now, she would know what it felt like to be tossed aside like garbage and disregarded like household pet.

Hopefully, she would enjoy the wile of isolation from the both of them.

Because he knew that Sakura must have missed Sasuke and his companionship. But it was too bad. She had done this to herself, by herself.

But Sakura was the least of his problems; he was more concerned about Gaara. He was getting increasingly suspicious of his absences. Although, he didn't leave any implications of self-incrimination by explaining his rain checks, he knew Gaara was still speculating something negative. He never liked him spending time with other guys so any excuses involving Sasuke would only prove to fail.

He couldn't bother with the Gaara's petty rules. He had better things to be concerned about, like building a wall between him and Sakura. He wasn't going to talk to her even if she dying in a burning building. **Karma was bitch**, born and raised; hell was where she spent most of her days…

Naruto blinked out of his stupor. Sasuke would be here soon and it wouldn't be very flattering if he was amending old tv opening themes in his head when he arrived. It would be best to start thinking about rainbows now.

…

At the center of the table, the candle's warm glow cast an intimate aura over the small dinner date.

Nordstrom cufflinks twinkled on the Uchiha's wrist, as he pulled back the chair for the patient teen behind him. Naruto smiled like an idiot strung out on a positively addictive drug, thanking him. Naruto closely admired the neatly ironed crème silk fabric suspending on Sasuke's Heaculean figure, elongating his strong physique and highlighting his long fingers. Slowly exhaling, Naruto swished buttocks in the red cushioned seat, calmly placing his hands on the oatmeal toned vinyl. As Sasuke sat, Naruto ogled Sasuke's cultivated chicness, wondering how he fine-tuned his manners to such an ideal altitude.

The older man neatly refolded his red napkin and wet his lips, automatically prompting Naruto to mildly bite his own. He suppressed the fine smirk that threatened to twitch onto his beautiful lips. His hands eagerly traded the table for his lap and he briefly avoiding eye contact with the gorgeous man.

"So," Naruto's chin immediately flew up as Sasuke spoke out. "Did you do your assignment?"

Naruto smiled and pulled out multiple slips of paper. "Yes, I did my assignment…teacher," Naruto amusingly grumbled, cynically rolling his eyes.

"Excellent job, my excellent student." Sasuke smirked.

"Why are we doing this again?" Naruto feigned aggravation as he refolded the strips of papers and then released them onto the table.

"Because it's a good exercise to eliminate our curiosity," Sasuke said doing the same as Naruto. "Consider me an animal of the feline variety."

"I'd prefer to consider you an animal of the rooster persuasion," Naruto joked, organizing his strips in the proper order, not rendering Sasuke's blankly offended expression.

Not realizing that he removed the venom from the snake, the blond still tenderly asked, "What was the first question that we were supposed to answer again?"

"What you like best."

"Okay, okay. I got this." He pulled up the first one and revealed it to Sasuke.

Sasuke gravitated toward the paper and read it slowly. "My honesty?"

Naruto gave a big shit-eating grin, folded the paper together, and put it aside. "Yes, that has to be your most remarkable trait, even more so than your inevitable way of forcing your endeavors on me."

"You call it a trait, I call it an honorary attribute," Sasuke mumbled, swimming in a sea of pride.

Naruto smirked. "Your unflattering, pompous feathers are showing."

"Are they? I try to bury it but some people just _draggg_ it out in me."

"Then, I do apologize for the demolishing one of your less _finer_ traits."

"Look who's talking." Sasuke snorted.

Naruto ignored him and asked. "What did you choose?"

Sasuke unfolded his.

Naruto read it then got confused. "You like my ego?"

"Of course—there's nothing sexier than someone who's securely confident about their personality."

Naruto's eyes twinkled like Polaris as he looked at Sasuke more or less _seductively_. "So you find it 'sexy'?"

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered, an optical playfulness unwinding above a beautiful, condescending smirk.

Naruto scrunched his nose. "Yet, you called me obnoxious last week."

"Planning to hold that against me I see? Are there any other grudges I should be aware of before we continue?" Sasuke leisurely asked, leaning on the table.

"NO." Naruto pouted. "I would just like to know if you find my self-confidence attractive, then why did you denounce it before this stup-"

Sasuke waved his finger at Naruto as a warning.

"Tedious," Naruto corrected for the sake of gentility. "Exercise?"

"Because for you—it's not a bad thing. It wasn't intended as an insult, more like an observation."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"You make it work," Sasuke said, shrugging.

Naruto still didn't believe him.

Sasuke looked at him straight in the eye. "Really."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and sighed."I'll except your explanation but never backtrack or I'll just back my car into you, _accidentally_."

"Threats? Really Naruto? I thought we were in an adult environment, in adult clothing, engaging in an adult conversation."

"My apologies. My _childish_ obnoxiousness is showing," Naruto sneered, reaching for the next slip.

Sasuke chuckled lightly at Naruto's mocking attitude.

"Next category: best feature," Naruto said calmly.

"I want to go first," Sasuke opposed with a bold interruption.

"Uh, hell no." Naruto scoffed and opened his paper first in order to prevent Sasuke from taking away his turn.

"Your hair." Naruto made the paper dance in his fingers as he took a hyper bite at his lip, his dandelion colored hair vacillated against the soft bow of his sandlewood skin. Sasuke tried to be horribly upset with Naruto for 'liking' his hair when just a few minutes ago he called him a rooster. But he couldn't do it. All he did was glare at the beauty from across the oval table. The hypocritical teen better be thankful that he was perfect in every way. Any exceptions and he would be counting his prayers right about now.

"I thought you said my hair was that of a rooster or a duck's ass. Forgive me—sometimes your idiocy doesn't penetrate."

Naruto gritted his teeth, not allowing Sasuke to ruin his mood on this stunning night, although he was pushing him close to the wire.

"I. Like. Your. Hair. Okay? But I also like to pull your leg. Is that a good enough explanation for you?" Naruto explained, extending his hand into the glossy strands of Sasuke's hair, fathoming how wonderfully slick and straight it was. His bangs were calm against his forehead and the additional pieces of hair peacefully rested against his jaw. Naruto concluded he must have had his mother's hair—it was too sleek to originate from his father's side.

Hell, for all knew, Sasuke probably looked exactly like his mom.

Nice and pretty.

Naruto held back the snicker while he actively remembered having an inner battle in his hospitality class as he decided between Sasuke's hair and his eyes. It was a close call. He loved Sasuke's grey eyes. He had never seen eyes like his before and they always made him giddy like a groupie girl. But he still chose Sasuke's odd hairstyle.

"It's unique and I like it like this. So don't change it."

Okay, he might have been over playing his stance but he still stood by what he said.

"But I was getting a haircut next week…"

"What?!" Naruto immediately straightened his spine, alert. "Seriously?"

"No," Sasuke said as he sarcastically smirked.

"Stupid," Naruto muttered, angry that Sasuke was joshing him.

"My turn," Sasuke opened his own, elbows leaning on the table.

"My eyes?" Naruto read with an upward inflection, surprised by the choice.

Sasuke nodded soothingly. "They're the… most expressive I've ever seen, not to mention the color. The hue is just… Flabbergasting."

Naruto listened closely, not deterring from the challenging gawk, wishing the spiking heat refused to calm. "So, what exactly do you see when you look into them?"

"I see…" Sasuke licked his lips, crafting his words like a pottery barn specialist. "Wonder, intelligence, confidence, disappointment, pain, hurt…"

Naruto's breath was fire, his heart a drum and his stomach was a bow. Could Sasuke really see all those things in the depth of his eyes? Were his lingering emotions that obvious?

"Am I wrong?" Sasuke temperately asked, the exquisite creature propping his chin on the back of his fingers.

"Um," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, his blazing blue eyes blinking, simulating an odd violet due to the lit flame in the relatively dark but high volume restaurant. "Uh, no. You're actually spot on… Am I really that obvious?"

"No, not necessarily. You're just so interesting that it makes you want to pay attention—closely." Sasuke smirked, leaning off his hand.

Naruto chuckled at the complement, "Ahh, prince charming. Where art thou crown?"

"On my queen," Sasuke smiled, his touch roasting Naruto's hand.

Naruto blushed with a giggle as his blood ran like rivers of blue flames.

"In that case, prince charming deserves a present..." Naruto showed Sasuke the third piece of his 'in-school' creation. With rhapsody, grey eyes roved over the sharpied digits on the slim paper. Sasuke smirked and leaned forward once again.

"Did I earn this?" Sasuke admired the small 'Call me' with an open heart written beside the number.

"Yeah, _I_ think **you** did." Naruto smiled as Sasuke's surprise waned and as he finally accepted the paper.

"That's funny." Sasuke smirked mixing the slip of Naruto's mobile number into his.

"Why?" Naruto playfully asked, a slight smile kicking at his lips.

"Because…" Sasuke handed Naruto a folded slip.

"I was thinking the same thing," Sasuke said as a smile hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.

"Oh, aren't I lucky?" Naruto asked, scanning the number written on it with a small 'call me' written echoed flirtation. Surprisingly, when Naruto looked at the model of perfection, he saw an unhealthy obsession swimming. It consisted of never-ending affection and respect merged with concern. Wholeness. Happiness. With him. Returning from a pit of omitted obliviousness, Naruto finally grasped that with limited effort, he could romantically_ have_ Sasuke. Regardless of Sakura, they could be one, if Naruto wished it to be.

It would only be fair. All those times Sakura crushed his confidence over love prospects and even resorted stole said love interests all seemed trivial. But it was different this time. This time the boyfriend was smitten with…him. It was a startling apprehension, but satisfying nonetheless.

"Not really, you earned it." As Naruto's rays of loveliness poured in like sunshine, warming him like a hot summer's day, Sasuke's eyes lidded. If he looked directly into Naruto's gorgeousness right now, he wouldn't be responsible for what happened to him.

Just in the nick of time, a waiter tended their table, handing them two menus, asking for their choice of drinks. Sasuke requested two sparkling waters, waving the employee away menacingly.

Naruto took the interruption as a silent reprieve. Flipping the menu open, he fleetingly scanned it looking for something on the menu he could partially understand.

Sasuke saved him from making a grave mistake by suggesting a food choice that was sure to enjoy. Naruto took his word for it and ordered just that.

The simple white candle emitted a bright burst of sealed their privacy around the elegant table cloth. The stingy amber flames represented their undying lust. They suppressed their blatant desires as the rest of the night was history.

…

They stopped in front of Naruto's door and occupied the silent space of the hallway. It wasn't particularly late, but Sasuke was determined to return Naruto to his house safe and sound.

"How did you know the halberd was going to be so good? Have you eaten there before or something?" Naruto asked, trying to mask his suspicion.

Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah, a few times but…" Sasuke brushed Naruto's hair clear of his eyes. "This is my favorite by far."

Naruto shyly laughed, grabbing the pleated edge of Sasuke's shirt, baiting him in with a firm tug. His translucent eyes twinkled in the fluorescent corridor lights made Sasuke strikingly more attentive.

"And why was it your favorite?" Naruto's gaze transferred to his buttons, meticulously smoothing the kinks in his predominantly wrinkleless shirt.

"Because I had something to concentrate on besides the food."

"The sparkling water, right?" Naruto smiled.

"Yes, the sparkling water." Sasuke brandished Naruto with one of his hot, slanted smirks and he nearly died from the impact.

In an exasperated instance of pleasurable silence, Naruto tapered off the conversation at his doorway. "Well, I better be hittin' the ol' sack now."

"Try not to spend the entire night masturbating to face."

Naruto snapped his fingers in surprised frustration. "_Damn_, you caught me."

"Red handed," Sasuke muttered, bowing against Naruto's cheek, cradling both sides of his face, and pressing an intimate kiss against his jaw. As the blond's eyes fluttered closed, he kissed Sasuke back in an identical place. Like a shattered thermometer, his body temperature rose above appropriate boundaries. Sasuke advanced a step, causing him to tumble into the hard door, carrying his body in tow. Flattened against one another, Naruto giggled at the feather touch of Sasuke's dashing nose and rigidness of his firm body.

His heart fluttered as he adored Sasuke's intense affections. He nuzzled him softly, his airy breaths verifying a shortness of oxygen between them. They moved in closer, enjoying the thickening tension amassing between them. A guttural grunt in Sasuke's throat resulted in Naruto's swelling erection. Feeling his dry mouth swell, he swallowed a wad of spit. He grazed the side of Sasuke's neck lightly, creating shutters in the older man's body. His hand detoured to his pants pockets, the hardness of his new 'problem' becoming more apparent.

Feeling his blood turn into hot syrup, he feared just _might_ spend the night touching himself to Sasuke's face. _Maybe_.

"G'night Suke," Naruto breathily whispered, twirling Sasuke's bangs around his left index finger, teasingly. Surprised that gave Sasuke less than he expected, he pulled away and jiggled key into the lock and disappeared into the living room, leaving Sasuke feeling like he wanted to follow inside.

Sasuke stared at the door, his eagerness steadying as he walked away, feeling like he just entered the lottery.

Because he just won the fucking jackpot.

…

Gaara poured a classy glass of sparkling margarita base, trying to prepare his apartment despite the old-new nuisance's company. He glanced over his shoulder at the undecorated wall near his rather plain bedroom. He immediately he glared at the sight for sore eyes with a new vengeance. Subconsciously, he willed him to a hot, hot place with no possibility of parole. Said hated figure crossed their arms and raised the perfect eyebrow that Gaara couldn't erase from his memory even if he tried.

Tilting the glass, Gaara articulated what his body already language screamed. "This isn't a pleasure meeting,"

The silver eyed man's eyes squinted with sadistic hilarity. "Why because we're not strung out—so high that M becomes the first letter of the alphabet?"

Gaara looked at the slick chocolate mane framing the man's gracefully angular face. Suddenly, his anger intensified as he remembered all the nights stroked his long hair in concentrated adulation because he thought it was real. Because he thought that _they_ were **real**.

"No, because your self-invitation is unwelcome."

Gaara walked into the kitchen and separated the drugs equally, all the while being pestered. He couldn't let his one setback put him out of his element. It was almost laughable. The man in front of him was a setback considering how special he used to be.

A patronizing snigger rumbled in the void stillness. "Why? Because I'm not him?"

"Don't talk about him," Gaara gritted out, snapping marijuana securely in the ziplock bag for safe keeping.

"Ahhh, so defensive. Scared?" The man stood up straight, a high-rising smirk curling onto his tastefully perfect pale lips. "Or just worried that he might come to his senses just as harshly as I did?"

His smile halted as a wave of former atrocities hit him like a Mack truck. Forgive? Forget? He was crazy to think such emotions were expected of him. Did he think that he would just let you go?

He couldn't. With those memories tangled in his brain, he would never be the same. Gaara would never be the same.

"And discover that you're a destructive, malicious disease that sucks the life from any and everything around him?" He bitterly asked, hate and pure vindictiveness lacing every word.

"Does he share your propensity for drugs? Weed, P pills, cocaine? What does he favor _the most_?" He asked, figuring that he would again be met with silence.

Still meddling, he pushed on, looking for that comfort underneath Gaara's skin. The place that he was happy once upon a time. "So what is he your boyfriend now? Fuck buddy? Quick fix?"

"That's none of your fucking concern, _Neji_," Gaara hissed.

Wasn't there a tool that could make him stop talking for five fucking seconds?

He didn't think that there was a tool on Earth that could accomplish that task. He could always slice his tongue out or forcibly drug him. But that wouldn't adequately give him what he wanted. He wanted Neji to fucking silence himself without having to be told, perhaps on a whim.

"Your tone suggests that he's not exactly what you want him to be," Neji taunted with a solitary shoulder shrug. "What even makes you think that he wants _you anyway_?" He haughtily asked.

Gaara connected with spiteful grey eyes feeling like he had just been slapped in the face multiple times, _hard_. "Shut up."

Neji slunk forward, tracking Gaara like a sneaky predator, sniffing out his weaknesses with his keen sense. "What makes you think he wants you, when it's so blaringly obvious that you still want me?"

The brunet leaped on Gaara's flagrant vulnerability, harming, hurting with his sledgehammer for words. Nearing the unstable nuclear shell of the notorious Gaara Subaku, Neji could barely contain himself—in more ways than one.

"I _know_ you do—he can't replace me. Everything we had—"

Straining a short distance from the riled redhead with every emotion breathed, living, rousing, Gaara intercepted Neji's short monologue with a harsh ravishing to his mouth. Hot and needy with past memories and forgotten emotions, Gaara crushed their pelvises together in a furious heat. Tongues spewing saliva slid against one another as moans that they didn't recognize echoed off the plain, white, white walls. They moved together in their accustomed sexually romantic correspondence that was as sophisticated as a fox trot but as wild and tangy as a jive. They moved to a private place with a bed.

Neji's wet, tender lips whispered unvarnished truth against the shell of the vehemently animalistic man. "You'll _never_ forget me…"

…

Several rounds of hot, sweaty sex set the mood for regret in the lightless room.

Gaara felt his head pound as multiple reiterations of _'I told you so.'_

"You know if you really loved him then you wouldn't have done that,"Neji mumbled to the pile of limbs beside him coated in a shallow sweaty sheen.

Exhausted from previous 'vigorous' activities, Neji's damp hair clung to his forehead and the back of his neck as he haphazardly threw his clothes on, from the bed's edge. "But we all how your love operates…_**Gaara**_," He spat.

Gaara's head of red locks incredulously looked at the perfectly sculpted male, muscles working, fingers tousled as he wondered. How did they reach here?

As he adamantly prided on his impressive influence over his gullible old flame, Neji proceeded to endanger the state of Gaara's fucked up mental health until he felt like something _broke_. "Well, at least, this is some type of vindication and… verification that I'm not the _only one_ you lie to." Neji smirked over his shoulder at the silently shocked nude male to see what had just recently transpired between them.

The rate of manipulation between them was high but the level trust wasn't.

As he pulled his shirt over his head, Neji glanced at the dementedly aggravated college student with triumph. "No need to worry. I'll let _myself_ out."

...

Naruto was punted by an odd eeriness as he trotted through Gaara's apartment. Strangely, he was met with an unresponsive human statue paused in motion. "Hey," Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"Where have you been, lately?" Gaara irrational dissatisfaction was worn like a mask, confusing Naruto. Was something he did bothering him? Or was it beyond his comprehension?

Naruto smelled the incense in conjunction of the freshly lit blunt as he sat next to his classmate. "Around… Why?"

He didn't receive a reply. Naruto perceived it as a hint of possible jealousy. Naruto smirked playfully. He knew the saying—"absence makes the heart fonder." And this seemed like a case where this definitely applied.

"Did you miss me?" Naruto intimately drew him in by the neck, and aimed for his lips but missed, kissing the corner of his mouth instead. Gaara physically distanced himself from the affectionate gestures.

Naruto frowned at his reaction. "What's the matter?"

Gaara rigidly stood up, robotically walking to the balcony door.

"Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked again, wishing he would receive an answer.

"I think you should go…" Gaara washed his face with his hands, still feeling the sensation of Neji's placid skin against his, dancing, pumping the incessant pleasure that drained him of all vitality.

Mint green eyes stuck to the depressing hurt expression. Guilt raided his body and he needed alone time so he could think clearly without any outside influences.

He had made a mistake and Naruto being here was constantly reminding him of that.

"Now," Gaara emphasized with a flash of rage, causing the fickle blond to wholeheartedly obey. He would usually impose an explanation on the feisty man but it was apparent that the result would be nonconductive and only cause anger to further circulate.

When he was left in the vacancy of his true loneliness, void of Neji and Naruto, he felt the riveting dingy mistake's adhesive begin to latch onto his conscious. In a burst of anger, he thrust his fist into the wall with unnerving strength, dreading that he could still taste the scent of the destructive Hyuuga on the tip of his tongue.

…

Lately, when Gaara kissed him, it felt empty, worried, and _repentant._ He didn't understand the mournful taste on his lips. They were a unit—he was supposed to lean on him a little and tell him if something was honestly troubling him.

He knew Gaara was never good at sharing his feelings which was fine until it severed the bond they had. They were supposed to trust one another and express their tribulations in order to relieve some pressure.

But Gaara wasn't doing that.

And it was hurting him.

He was already concerned that he was beginning to crack when his thoughts began to supersede Gaara and bleed into Sasuke territory.

He would find himself wondering where he was, what he was doing, and if he was missing him. Then, he remembered that no one would miss him besides Gaara. He was everyone's burden. The one that everyone wanted to be rid of—permanently.

He constantly thought about it, causing his steady drug use to increase. More pills, more shots, and sometimes needles. They didn't offer much relief but they did successfully numb the pain for a short period of time.

Gaara would suggest the drug and he would try them. Because he would never do anything to hurt him, ever.

It was what he needed to get by and Gaara knew that. It was causal practice for them. And it all seemed to coincide until he remembered Sasuke. Then it all spun off the wheel.

He remembered the feelings and completeness he felt around Sasuke. The need to compensate disappeared, because he felt whole. In the end, it didn't matter because Sasuke didn't care about him… Right?

No, that wasn't true. If Sasuke didn't care about him to some extent, then he would have never had said that to him.

Sasuke believed that he was stronger than the influence.

Sadly, he wasn't.

Every time he took a swig of Bacardi, whiskey and vodka, he felt like he was betraying a promise. He tried to reason that he didn't owe anybody anything, including Sasuke, but it only temporarily pacified him before the guilt wrestled to the top once again.

Would Sasuke be disappointed if he knew? Would he think that he was pathetic pushover that couldn't handle life battles?

Maybe Sasuke wouldn't judge him because of his negative choices. He had been trying. He had refused what Gaara had offered lately. But it was getting harder. Gaara was getting increasingly insistent about them using together. He was more aggressive, oppressive and deeply distant. Something was troubling him but he wouldn't dare say why. Naruto couldn't get him to spill the beans about it. He tried angry methods, persuasive, and provocative ones, all to no avail.

The stunning pale man denied any troubles and assured him that everything that was fine. He wanted to believe him but always remembered how Gaara turned away that night. That action alone didn't seem to add up to the correct answer. Gaara always loved when he took initiative in their fucked up relationship, especially with kisses. Recently, he didn't even get excited by seeing him anymore.

He tried not to think about it too much. He could be overanalyzing the situation with a nonobjective filter, which would only make everything worse. Instead, he concentrated on class deadlines and perfecting his college assignments. He improved the art of _boring_ MLA format. In the eyes of his professors, his essays were increasingly exceptional.

He tried to drown his troubles with school work but even that wasn't enough. So he scheduled longer work hours. In that new endeavor, he finally perfected realistically faking his smile, making the customers think he was the biggest ball of sunshine on the planet.

Even Sasuke thought so, especially when he convinced Sasuke to reconcile with Sakura after she called the Uchiha crying, apologizing over and over. Although it was like doing dentistry work over the phone, Sasuke eventually complied.

Strangely, he was sad that he would have to share Sasuke with Sakura again, he asked him to come over so they could spend their last moments before Sakura stole him away again. Astonishingly, the man appeared in front of his door like Houdini. Straggling the door frame like he always did, Naruto couldn't control the flare destroying his heart from the inside. He loved that he didn't have to ask twice for his company. It was wonderful—until Sasuke looked at him was like he was some treasured gem that worth so much more than what he settled for. It was overwhelming. He had to will himself to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He didn't deserve to be looked at _like that. _He was a _worthless_ drug addict. That's what he was and that's all that he would ever be. He knew that. Everyone at his school knew that. Why couldn't Sasuke figure that out too?

Smirking, Sasuke cupped his cheek, then leaned down tenderly kissed his forehead. Naruto _prayed_ that he didn't break down. Unfortunately, a sob found its exit. "…_Hi_," the blond muttered sadly, as Sasuke's dark hair clashed with his as he rested his mouth there for a brief moment.

"Hey, are you okay?" The fostering voice broke floodgates of harmony.

Naruto opened his mouth but closed it back. How was he supposed to explain that he was slowly becoming dependent on him without sounding all needy and whiney?

He didn't want to sound like a replacement Sakura. He just … had never felt this important before, let alone been kissed on his forehead before. The delicacy of the kiss made Naruto want do unspeakable things to him—with him—that he was sure to regret.

Sasuke would nurse him back to stable health, if he'd let him but... what if he was irreparable?

Sasuke stood up right, strummed his thumb over his soft cheek, and smiled at him like they had just reunited after a long departure.

Naruto slipped his hand over Sasuke's wrist, a gloomy smile spreading across his face. "I'm okay _now_."

…

A few days down the road, the quiet pitter patter of the rain had the same effect on Naruto that a quiet yoga meditation segment would.

But it was two sided coin. He was confined to the four walls of his home because of the dreary ash skies. But, sadly, in Seattle, that's how things were.

It rains and you become a useless hermit, much like Naruto was right now.

While he was hugging giant frog on the floor, Naruto intently blinked, remembering that Sasuke was behind him, laid up on his couch lazy pile of bones he was. He immediately sat up like there was something urgent. With his arm cast over his brow, Sasuke peeked at him with one glittering grey eye.

"Something wrong?" As Sasuke rocked his leg off the edge of the couch, Naruto mischievously looked at it, giving Sasuke reasonable cause for suspicion.

He knew exactly what they could do instead of just lazing around like spiritless bums. "I have a confession to make."

"A confession?" Sasuke felt like he should sit up for this one but he didn't. There was no way he was going to let's Naruto's quirkiness ruin his solace.

"_Yes_." Naruto sat his frog up and sat Indian style facing Sasuke. "Something _no one_ else knows about me." Naruto shook his scalp of sparkling champagne colored hair with a conspiratorial smile twisted on his pretty pink lips.

"Yeah?... And what would that be?" Sasuke leaned on his elbow and weaved his hand into his hair, trying to contain his irresistible interest in the subject matter.

What was he going to say?

"I have an extensive…collection." Naruto muttered unclearly.

"You have a _what_ collection?" Sasuke asked testily.

"Porn collection," He recapped with a proud smile.

Sasuke felt a certain part of anatomy jump at the mention. Porn and Naruto? Honestly, the combination sounded delicious although he wasn't much of a porn admirer himself. If he claimed he was never interested, he would have been a bold faced liar. He was a teenager once after all—a very bad one—but that wasn't the point.

For some reason, he didn't really peg Naruto as the secret pervert type but he guessed he was wrong.

Now that he thought about it, someone so cute couldn't be the least bit non-sexual. Was that even possible?

"You like to watch porn?" Sasuke asked, rightfully dumbfounded.

"Like!? _**Love**_," Naruto gushed with red cheeks, getting hot at the thought.

"Is this like something you do… in your free time?" Sasuke tried to clarify without outright asking if he was addicted.

"Yeah, you could say it's a hobby."

Naruto sagaciously skimmed Sasuke for vulnerabilities. As Sasuke scandalized twitched, he spotted his target and crawled toward him like a small kitten. His tiny hands skulked toward the amazed Uchiha clandestine motive unscathed.

Sasuke was frozen in place, unable to avoid the small body that was wanton with hot, insatiable need. He hiked up on Sasuke, one hand finding his shoulder and the other venturing beneath the white t-shirt. He buried his face into Sasuke's, nuzzling, silky skin blackening the older man's vision with an imprint of stars. His heart pounded against his ribs like a hammer to nail as he felt Naruto's marshmallow lips collide with his sensitive ears. "Watch it with me, _please_?"

…

Maybe leave me a review, it'd cheer me up a bit and I'll probably update a little faster.

Next chapter, you'll find out the deal with Naruto and Gaara, maybe Neji.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for being gone so long. I had finals then I had state tests, then my mom made me do a summer college class so hehhhhhh… Here we are. Chapter 7. Enjoy cause I got my writing mojo back my dears. Thanks for all the reviews and stuff. I love you guys so much –ahhh, hearts and kisses and hugs and sex for all of you- (seriously.)**

**Warning: Some displeasing content; If you don't like, don't read.**

As a kneading hand massaged his abs, Sasuke felt his brain liquefy in his skull. The exploring hand tickled the waistband of his sweat pants, inciting a special brand of emotion and pleasantly tingling every sensor on his body. Those blue eyes suffocated everything above the belt and made everything below it come to life. Sasuke measured the distance between their lips, and predicted any second they would collide. But, unfortunately, his projection was overshooting the goal post. Naruto receded, only tilting his head and blowing a suggestive sigh.

Feeling a strong case of blue balls, Sasuke immediately threaded together that this diorama was the definition of sexual torture.

Suddenly, he felt the edge of Naruto's nose nudge his, breathing his logic into him like a gentle breeze on a calm autumn afternoon. "C'mon. Let's watch one. It's not a big deal."

The relentless blond raked his trimmed nails over his porcelain smooth skin, allowing his finger to venture to the territory of his nipple, flicking it through his thin shirt. He couldn't prevent the cracked grunt that putted out. With a breath of victory, Naruto freed his hand from his toned chest. He cocked back on his heels and sighed for the second time. Blinking with a counterfeit impeccant sway, he slightly hummed in his throat, he made one last effort to make Sasuke understand his point of view.

"We're both g_uys_. We should be bonding over _sexxxxxx_," Naruto gasped out like a diagnosed nymphomaniac. "Lots and _lots_ of sex."

Mulling it over like a love-sick puppy—Sasuke didn't see the harm in it. It _was_ just porn, right?

"Or instead of just watching it, we can just dive right into the real thing—" Naruto suggested with more vigor than he should have.

"Okay," Sasuke said to the beautifully convincing blond, completely defeated.

"Yay!" Naruto collapsed to the floor, crawling to the small cabinet below television that kept his organized DVD collection. As Naruto dug like a small shovel, Sasuke observed that Naruto's apple bottom butt was absurdly round—almost big enough to capture's its own orbit. It was a gorgeous ass, better than anyone's he had ever seen and admittedly better than his girlfriend's—much better. Now, if only he had the know pleasure of what it would be like to encase his entire cock in his tight little—

"I know the perfect one—"

Sasuke squinted, slightly ashamed of his naughty thoughts. Now, he would be definitely be getting a load of coal in his stocking this Christmas.

"What?" Sasuke asked, seeking clarification for his muddled mind. It _was_ oddly difficult to think about anything while envisioning yourself plowing into someone like a pipeline drill.

"I know the best one—the best video to show you." Naruto removed a DVD from a scratch resistant slip, smiling at it like a mental patient that had escaped full-scale security.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Maybe he had let something out of the lockbox. A sex demon.

Oh dear.

Jiggling his spine, Sasuke swallowed as Naruto readied the DVD player. "Wait, what's your fetish?" He asked.

Naruto deviously chuckled, biting soft lower lip. "Creampie," He endearingly whispered over his shoulder.

Sasuke quickly felt his neck heat up and his ears burn. Naruto's favorite was _what _exactly?

Maybe he misheard him. He couldn't mean that he liked the entire internal ejaculation, cumshot, moneyshot stint done in porn films. No. Sasuke was delusional—and so were his ears.

"I think it's so hot—especially when it's dripping out," Naruto said, feeding the electronic device the DVD.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't delusional. Naruto did confirm it twice. And he knew he wasn't imagining Naruto checking the video for errors.

The careful creampie lover pressed play and scurried next to Sasuke on the couch, allowing the video's opening to play.

"Do you have a favorite kind?" Naruto unmethodically asked.

Stressed, Sasuke lifted his head of his hand. "Of?"

"Porn," Naruto bluntly said.

"Not really. I'm not much of a porn admirer."

"Oh…" Naruto slyly smiled. "You prefer the real thing."

Sasuke didn't have time to reply before Naruto squeezed in his supple body closer to him, molding to him like playdo. "So should we change activities then?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and his temperature sporadically hiked like a freak tropical storm. Did Naruto just offer what he thinks he was offering him?

Blue oceans that twinkled like the stars in the midnight sky consumed Sasuke like an endless vortex in the space time continuum. A stray hand incurred a spike of the hardness in his crotch by deliberately massaging Sasuke's inner thigh. Literally feeling like a cat stole his tongue, he took the strained chance to mentally exhume the faultless face under a microscope—the straight aligned nose bone, the luscious lips, and a mass of hair allotted in those sweeping lashes. A tempting twitch in the corner of Naruto's mouth made Sasuke almost leap at the timely opportunity. After all, it was late _and _it was raining outside…

"Because we can do something more active, but only if _you_'d like…" Naruto curled his fingertips into his thigh.

The apprehensive Uchiha gulped. Was Naruto really serious about this?

Because if he was, he would have to give him a definite decision… now.

"But if you don't want to—I'll yield," Naruto buckled, withdrawing to his section of the cushion, focusing on the television. He leaned on the sofa of the couch, he glanced out the corner of his eye at a disheveled Sasuke. He gave into the urge to smirk as he stole a peek at the steel eyes welled with uncertainty. Body heavy like lumber, face swollen with resignation—he admired Sasuke's inner war at close range. And it was a war indeed. Blinking slowly and sensually, Naruto resolved the quality of the entertainment of screwing with Sasuke's head with the knowledge that he could barely resist him. It was so apparent that he wanted him, so Naruto was going to use it as a torture tactic.

Ah, yes, humorous, in a dark way.

He minded less of Sasuke—they concentrated on the scenes playing out on the flatscreen.

The movie progressed with an artificial bleach blonde topless female passionately kissing a built brunet male. She massaged his lubed cock, moaning into his mouth. She maneuvered between thighs, licking and nibbling, eventually taking the entire length into her mouth, deep throating him like her life depended on it.

The segment eventually transitioned straight into intercourse. He put her tan silky, tan legs over her shoulders, as he vigorously pounded into her.

"Ah, that's right! Fuck me! Fuck me with that big cock! Mmm, yeah!" she wantonly cried.

He gruffly moaned, trembling against her fluently contributing body.

At the scene's climax, he grunted as his lower extremities convulsed with the ripple of his intense orgasm.

Ribbon of white cum leaked from the woman's entrance as she encouraged the man wholeheartedly. "Yeah, fucking cum in my pussy, babe. Oooo, _yeah_, baby."

As he pulled out, a gush of thick white liquid followed close behind.

Naruto huddled over Sasuke's heated muscles. The Uchiha's eyes twitched with fascination as Naruto continued to cease his arm. "Wasn't that _**hot**_?"

…

Porn.

It was the last communal activity that they had shared in a while.

Naruto stretched over him and asked if they could make this a habit in an oddly sexy way. In response, Sasuke pressed his teeth into the base of Naruto's neck and agreed to recharge their sexual batteries everyone once in a while with a good round of dirty, nasty porn. It was the last time they seen each other in person. They had texted since they last hung out but somehow their schedules never happened to coincide. Sasuke was always working and from what he knew, Naruto was religiously attending his classes. He knew that they were both in dire need of one another's company. Sasuke was even willing to admit that his body was deteriorating without Naruto's close proximity to add to his dull life.

Although he and Sakura would spend time together, she wasn't nearly as satisfying as Naruto. Frankly, he preferred Naruto's company so much more than her's. His mouthwatering smile and his beautiful eyes were the best thing since fucking sliced bread and he was determined to get as close as possible to find out his story, who he really was. This new determination surpassed just a pastime or hobby. It was a brand new endeavor. It was the reason he roused in the morning. To see him. He _had_ to see him, and add another piece to the lacking puzzle.

He had the day off today, so he intended on doing just that.

Sasuke softly rapped on the door, losing all inhibitions as the ball of gorgeousness opened the door for him. He contently gazed down on the heart-shaped face that greeted him at the door and accepted the teasing smile as a candid invitation, as he slithered past the door's protective barrier. As he walked onto the foyer, he was assaulted by Naruto's affectionate embrace. The small blond's limber arms slung his neck, creating a safe haven in his tender shoulder.

Absolutely drained by the exchange of the polarized heat, Sasuke could barely contain himself as Naruto placed a demure kiss that felt like a freshly bloomed rose was softly planted on his cheek. He gasped at Naruto's most captivating, "Hey there _you_."

He silently mused. Was Naruto as sweet with all his friends or was he a specialized case? He witnessed similar provocative behavior between him and Gaara, so he assumed he had reached a respectable level of promise with Naruto at this point. Finding it amazing, he ceased the fleeting opportunity, rounding his hands over those voluptuous hips, drawing them together like two magnetized pieces of metal. He kissed the open space on Naruto's face, smothering himself into Naruto's pliable body, reckoning a simple hug wasn't close enough.

As Naruto's lips moved across his jaw, he slowly drew away but he allowed Sasuke's hands to comfortably remain where they were. He wiggled his toes against the cold tile and covered the hands placed on his hips, wile molded on his precious face. "What's up?"

Sasuke sighed, looking at the beautiful teen. "Nothing much, bored."

"Yeah?" Naruto cutely scrunched his nose in an understanding way.

Sasuke acknowledged the divine exposition with a smoking hot smirk. It got him thinking, if he had met Naruto first, things would have been so different.

"Yeah," Sasuke glumly accepted.

"Aw, well come in," Naruto courteously said.

Sasuke obeyed and watched Naruto's backside in slow motion like an infatuation drunk teenager, Sasuke distractedly began to speak. "Are you doing anything today?"

Naruto slowly veered toward the dining table, savoring the shaft of light penetrating the wooden kitchen shades. "Actually… No. I don't have class today."

Sasuke clearly smirked behind Naruto's back.

He didn't have work today but he really didn't expect Naruto to be completely free today. He only thought that he would only be available to chat for a minute. But even better, Naruto was free for the entire day. But even better, Naruto was free for the entire day. He could have the fill of Naruto's honey and syrup voice that he eagerly hungered for, with _limited_ interruptions.

He had to engage him into something that he would be interested in doing on his day off. "Wanna go to the beach?"

Naruto sank into the chair, a look of surprised admiration on his face. "You're fucking with me," he said with a sluggish smile crawling onto his sweet mouth.

"No, I'm not fucking with you—we can go," Sasuke assured, raising an eyebrow. "Got swimming trunks?"

"Course—speedos too." Naruto chuckled, burrowing his chin into his palm.

Sasuke snorted, at the statement as his imagination ran wild as he pictured Naruto posing with his legs obscenely open, his intention of purely pleasing him. On Naruto's part, it would be a horrible idea to give him the chance to visually rape his body—more than the chance he his exposing towel. If all that stood between him and Naruto was a speedo—there was bound to be some violation in their mist.

But he couldn't do that. Temptation was a sin. It was in his best interest if he did everything in his power to prevent himself from taking the gorgeous little college boy.

Before the sin took over.

"Pick one and let's go."

…

On the way to the beach, they stopped at Sasuke's apartment so he could retrieve his own pair of swimming trunks.

Reposed against the passenger chair, aviator shades poised on his slim nose, Naruto muttered, "Make sure they fit your ass."

Sasuke stopped midway, half of his leg outside the car, glaring.

"Don't look at me like that… I've seen it…And it's _huge_." The teen pulled their beach bag comfortably into his lap, looking through the windshield.

"_Do_ hurry up," Naruto groaned, rolling his head against the seat, his bright blond locks shimmering in the splash of sun that entered the car.

Sasuke didn't entertain Naruto's discriminatory comments with a response. If he did, Naruto would be nursing a broken nose.

Like a snow flurry, Sasuke breezed back with all the necessary materials, driving them to the ocean side as promised.

Naruto still didn't look pleased with the outcome. "Ugh. Took long enough," He complained as Sasuke neatly aligned the car in the parking spot.

Sasuke _finally_ lost his composure and unleashed his violent dark side. Unluckily, Naruto's left cheek felt the consequences.

…

With the sunlight prickling their skin, they cruised into the changing booths with all the materials they carted along with them. Naruto pulled out the hoola trunks he was saving for his future trip to Hawaii, feeling for their appearance in the mirror. As usual, he looked absolutely spectacular. The shorts adapted to his spherical ass perfectly—proving he had excellent taste in more than just clothing. With a beautiful bone structure, prominent collar bone and high cheek bones underneath his flawless skin, he looked like a professional model auditioning for a Hollister position.

He smirked at his reflection, finding it worthy Sasuke's attention. To avoid the direct UV rays, he covered his firm torso in a tank top. The less skin he showed the less skin damage would incur. Besides, he didn't need to get any tanner. If the pigment in his skin increased, people would think he was bleaching his hair and tanning his for a vivid effect, which couldn't be any further from the truth. He was naturally tan and super blond unlike the conjectures people made about him.

He just didn't want give anyone anything else to talk about. Gaara already called him his mocha treat. He didn't want anyone making any nicknames out of his appearance. Perhaps slapping on some sun screen would do the trick.

"Are you done?" Sasuke's monotone voice echoed in the empty building.

"Yeah," Naruto called from the locked stall. "Just lemme grab my sack." Naruto grabbed the small bag, giggling at the dirty reference.

"Be quick about it, _idiot_."

Naruto covered his mouth to conceal the obnoxious laughter. Provided anyone was around to hear their small conversation, he thought that he should try to suppress some of his jocularity or they too might think he was an idiot.

Sasuke tied a solid knot into swimming trunks, near the neighboring sinks. "Moron," he grumbled as Naruto opened the stall and walked out.

"Fini—" Naruto stopped and his heart did too.

Adjusting the waist band of his shorts, Sasuke glanced up, a drape of dark hair falling into his sparkling grey eyes.

Naruto swallowed a hunk of jitters. Damn, Sasuke was an anatomical spectacle. His individually defined rock hard abs were a movement all by themselves. God… Naruto nearly choked at the curl of his rippling biceps. He had suspected always that Sasuke had an amazing body but he never actually confirmed how marvelous it actually was.

For a lack of better word—Sasuke was fucking _walking, _**breathing** sex. And even that was an understatement.

His jaw twitched and then bright red flowered on his cheeks.

Not to make comparative judgments, but Gaara had a ripped body too.

Only he wasn't supposed to be so fawning over him like a groupie…

Wasn't that Sakura's job?

"Hot damn, Sasuke… You have a _badass_ bod," Naruto managed to squeeze out.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke blinked, preoccupied by trunk strings.

"You're…" Naruto felt his cheeks turn redder. "really hot."

A sadistic smirk glided onto Sasuke's face. "Is that just an observant compliment _or_ an invitation?"

Naruto wiggled like a worm, blue eyes glazing with lust. "Maybe a little of both."

Loving the answer, Sasuke was even more interested when Naruto pulled out a bottle of sun screen of his personal bag.

Appearing to be innocent, Naruto held it out to him suggestively. "Rub my back?"

…

After they playfully slathered sunscreen on their skin, purposely shrouding every crevice, they took to the open Pacific Ocean beach. Starfish clad rocks were bum rushed with enthusiastic waves, and randomly placed wooden posts were forced into the soil making the beach seem rugged paradise, differing from the common paradisiacal outlay of Florida beaches.

Thick volleyball nets were set up across the center of the beach featured half naked teenagers slapping the white ball over the fence. In tune with the competitive game, they didn't even seem to notice their arrival to the cemented benches.

Shrieks of happy toddlers building mounds of wet sand in near the shore, mothers stretched out on massive beach towels, and men on the prowl for single hunnies made Naruto smile.

He was at home.

He didn't care if this wasn't the movie perfect Eden that people pictured. It was perfect to him and that was all that mattered.

Even though he failed to tell Sasuke he couldn't swim to save his own life, he still planned to have a great time.

Inhaling like a woman in labor, Naruto abruptly looked at Sasuke.

"Oh my gosh, _look_," he dramatically whispered, pointing at Sasuke's delicious pecs.

Sasuke followed the offending finger only to be flicked in the nose with it. Rightfully irritated, Sasuke glared at the boisterous laughter roaring from Naruto's wide mouth. The tan man cradled his sides and pinned his lips together, bubbling over with inner giggles as he stomped in the white sand.

He snuck a look at the murderously stiff Uchiha, and shivered. Obviously Sasuke didn't think that the small scale prank was very funny. He couldn't have Sasuke taking revenge on him so he booked it. As he took to the flowing ocean, he tripped face first straight into the belly of the sand.

The duped man looked on with pure satisfaction as Naruto slowly pushed himself with his sand drenched tank top, feeling a dreading hot of fresh pay back. He spit out a mouthful of sand, as his blue eyes discredited the impossible phenomenon that just occurred.

Did Sasuke just achieve vengeance without even having to move, let alone speak a single word?

How in God's name did _he_ do _that_?

'No, please don't tell me Sakura's dating the devil's spawn!'

"NO!" Naruto pounded a large depression in the beach sand, his bottom lip quivering.

Smirking, Sasuke covered his mouth, as a gentle breeze carried his dark locks away from his face. "Tell me, how does Karma taste?"

Naruto dusted himself off, sniffling. "Awful, you sonovabitch."

…

As the oceans bellowed, white shuffles of the rushing waters crashing into the delicate white sand, Naruto felt like it soothed his soul and calmed his spirits. The impression of the gritty sand and the salty scent of the ocean water titillated Naruto's senses and relaxed his ligaments, productively paralyzing the tension in his muscles. It had been a long week, especially without Sasuke interrupting his arduous college assignments. He constantly imagined the perfect afternoon break: Sasuke entered his apartment and shoved his work aside; sending it crashing to the floor as he ravenously toppled him and ravaged his fatigued body with heavy kisses and bruising touches.

Sure, he knew it was stupid to fantasize, but he couldn't help himself. Sasuke was a sexy beast that aroused a hoard of carnal emotions. He wanted to spread his legs for him. But he refrained from caving so easily. He was still involved with Gaara after all and Sasuke was still committed to Sakura. _Supposedly. So, _he didn't want to ruthlessly ruin everything for temporary feelings.

Naruto was so engaged in his surroundings, he couldn't even remember the last time he went to the beach. Sakura was always so tangled in work and Gaara didn't care much for such recreational activities that he never had company to visit here.

Queue, he meets Sasuke and he ends up at the place that had a special place in his heart.

Was Sasuke a…forecast for positive things in his life?

Sighing, Naruto drew some figures in the sand as two children breezed past, hollering at one another in hysterical urgency. Naruto remembered how rambunctious he was as a child and smiled. He was like a tiger that could never be tamed even by the best trainer. The trusted adults in his life always promised he would grow out of the silly phase but too bad they were wrong.

"That guy…" Sasuke raked his fingers through the sand, sitting Indian style next to Naruto, who was seated on his knees.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, honestly confused. "What guy?"

"Gaara," Sasuke said calmly, resisting the urge to grit his teeth to stubs at the mention of his name.

The chilly gale that barreled from Naruto's wintery blue eyes almost made Sasuke apologetic for even asking. "What _about_ him?"

"What is he to you?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, rubbing his right arm. "Don't worry about it."

"Why shouldn't I? There something you're trying to hide from me?" Sasuke edgily asked, feeling his unwelcoming glare lodge into shell that Naruto _always_ wore around him.

"No, there are just some things that are none of your business. This is one of them." Naruto pulled his knees into his chest, wishing Sasuke would drop the subject. He came here to relax, not to be thoroughly interrogated.

If they delved any further, he was pretty sure Sasuke wouldn't like what he would uncover about Gaara… or him.

"Does he go to these colossal college parties?"

Naruto's head shot up.

"Yeah, _so_?" He ground out, his eyes flicking Sasuke's person from top to bottom.

Who did Sasuke think he was questioning him about his private life?

He scoffed. "He already sounds like a poor influence."

"How would you know that?" Naruto glared, feeling his usual protective force field return.

"Call it a sixth sense."

Naruto's face substantially hardened. "What's it to you if he is? You don't fucking know him and I'm not your fucking responsibility," Naruto retorted with more energy than necessary. His cheeks dusted a light pink and from the shift in an emotion, his eyes faded to a pale blue.

Sasuke felt a dragon of anger unravel inside as he watched Naruto's annoyance unwind. "Why are **you **_so_ defensive?"

"I'm _not_. I'm telling you how it is," Naruto puffed out, looking away from Sasuke slightly ashamed.

He didn't mean to verbally attack Sasuke with such severity but he just didn't want to tarnish his reputation in Sasuke's eyes. It was better for both of them if Sasuke didn't know more than what he already knew. Anything more, and he was sure that he would want anything to do with him.

Sasuke looked at him deeply. "Well, regardless what level of importance he is to you—I just don't want him to hurt you," he sincerely said.

Naruto paused with regret.

"Is that _so_ wrong?"

"No," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke abruptly stood. "Want icecream?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, sure."

…

On the ocean side, they finished their icecream cones. Shortly after, they invaded the deciduous shaded benches the bench, huddled into one another's warmth, enjoying the scenery.

Feeling undisturbed by his former thoughts, Naruto positioned his head into Sasuke's strong arm, burrowing his temple there. The Uchiha permitted Naruto's legs, even their bare toes to touch. The unspoken intimacy made Sasuke to waffle slightly. It felt so natural and so justified that Sasuke didn't want to think that it was wrong. Instantly, a flash of futurity mounted and Sasuke could feel Naruto's lips on his, his tongue grazing the edge of his teeth, a bubble breath exchanging between them, filling the air. It certainly was a fantasy now, a great visual until he obtained the real thing.

The beautiful male beside him softly sighed, leisurely decompressing from the hard work week. Underneath the grinning sun, the roaring ocean blasted against the sand, completely roping in Naruto's interest.

"The ocean is so—dazzling, so fluid—so free," Naruto muttered, astounded.

Sasuke watched Naruto's index finger trace the horizon line.

The idealistic reflex jarred fresh presumptions about Naruto's underlying mysterious nature. He was always just assuming, just estimating emotions. But this felt different, like a declaration of imprisonment.

"Kinda wish I was like it," Naruto abstractly whispered.

Sasuke waited with bated breath before forming a suitable response. "You are," Sasuke insured.

Naruto flippantly laughed. "Don't be foolish—I'm _not_."

He always thought about his destructive past and his hopeless future. He knew that he was wound in a world of circumstances he was permanently confined to. To him, Gaara was the essence of his purpose, his good, his bad and everything in between. They were the perfect match even though their cohesiveness was poisoned by narcotics, drinking, late night rendezvous with people that were as lost and as damaged as they were.

Sometimes, he wanted freedom from his cognitions, and the ceaseless replay of his mistakes. Honestly, until Sasuke pointed out that he might have a problem, he hadn't really noticed. Alcohol and marijuana use was routine for them. They needed it to function. But after Sasuke said that one thing, he felt the need to change for the better.

But he knew he couldn't.

Change took strength.

Something he knew that he didn't have.

Skin collided with Naruto's forearm, breaking him from his sad circuit of regret. The unintentional action sewed firecrackers in his heart. "Naruto, you're only free if you wish to be."

He mentally spun. Freedom.

He didn't have to be a slave to dreadful decisions. Only he had the final verdict. Him. And him alone. He was the one who had to forge his own path.

"You're right." Naruto dearly kissed Sasuke on the cheek, subsequently adding a compassionate touch to the area his lips bussed. His hand fell into Sasuke's—where it felt like it always belonged.

And they just were.

Naruto sighed. "You're so right."

…

Naruto rotated his hips in Sakura's couch, feeling like a rebellious, long lost relative that refused to visit. She had kissed both his cheeks and begged for his forgiveness. Without a struggle, Naruto gave it to her easily. He didn't have it in his heart to reject a legitimate apology.

A veil of repentance shielded her bright green eyes and Naruto decided there no way he could make an argument out of this reunion. It wouldn't be right. He just wanted to sweep it under the rug, forgive her but not forget.

They were just hanging out like they always were, munching and watching TV.

He stared at the screen in horror and blinked to ensure it was real. Octo-mom's large stomach and broad purple stretch marks made pregnancy look unappealing.

"Dude, she has like 14 kids. That's fucking ridiculous," Sakura whispered. She gasped, feeling her organs shift at the sight. Did she really think it was appropriate to artificially inseminate her uterus to produce eight offspring? Eight? Count it, _eight_?

Naruto swallowed a ball of anxiety. "I know… I could barely have one."

He thought about how crowded her uterus must be. It made him theorize his own potential pregnancy predicament. "If I had twins or something—I'd probably be trying to sell one or something."

Thankfully while this short segment was on, wasn't here. He was in the kitchen preparing some drinks by his request. He was sure Sasuke wouldn't be able to hear their conversation due to the extended distance. No one knew about his special ability besides Sakura—not even Gaara—and he preferred to keep something so private, secret.

As he heard the crushing ice and the swishing of drinks, he was certain Sasuke was shielded from the truth, at least for now.

He just couldn't run the risk of another man discovering what he was capable of—especially if he had dark intentions. Besides, he didn't want his masculinity threatened because of his unusual "gift."

Despite the maelstrom twirling inside, Naruto smiled at Sakura and continued with his ongoing joke. "Like get your baby here. Buy one get one half off. Not free because I still have to make a profit. One baby here!"

Naruto laughed, rubbing his open palm over his stomach, practicing the bad habit of propping his ankle on the center table. "I wouldn't seriously give them away but I would have my hands full. Two is an entire family."

"Sure is," Sakura agreed, mind blown.

Sasuke stopped mixing the fruit drink. In that time, he heard one destructive sentence. "I could never happily be pregnant with so many children."

Pinching his brows together, Sasuke halted breathing. That was Naruto speaking…? The higher arch of the tone would have suggested that it was Sakura's voice, but the softer huskier tone told him it was Naruto's. But how could that be? Naruto was all man. He confirmed it himself when he had him pinned against the wall in nothing but a towel. If this was true then what he was hearing was fiction?

No, couldn't be. Why would Naruto lie about something like that?

Trembling, Sasuke temporarily turned back ice crusher.

He guessed he would do his own confrontational investigation later.

"I think sometime in the near future, I want a really big family."

"Yeah?" Naruto asked with a confused smile.

"Yeah," Sakura confirmed, rubbing her hands in her lap with an indicative glance toward the kitchen.

"Mm." Naruto said, feeling a hot oppressive feeling swirl in his chest—something akin to a flare of jealousy.

She would get to keep Sasuke and he would just have to look on like a good best friend, and be abandoned on the outside.

Where he belonged.

…

Naruto generously allowed Sasuke inside and hopped on the side of the couch, eagerly planting his hands on his thighs. Naruto stepped near his staircase and clapped his hands incessantly, focusing on pitching his point across better.

"Hey, I was thinking that we—"

"You can get pregnant?" Sasuke asked amid Naruto's explicit elation, his mind clearly off on a tangent into a different universe.

Even though he was disconcerted by the question, Naruto was aware there was no dodging the very forward question. "Uh, erm, yeah, I can."

"How?"

Gawking at Sasuke and feeling the hair on the back of his neck ice with cold sweat, he strangely summarized the answer.

"It's a weird bloodline mutation thingy. Weird cross of genes and X and Y chromosomes."

Giving choppy details was best. It wasn't like he was talking to his doctor, or a trusted longtime friend, it was Sasuke. His best friend's boyfriend.

The topic of pregnancy shouldn't at the top of their subject list.

It was inappropriate. At least it would be if they didn't have this weird connection.

Meanwhile, Sasuke still pondered Naruto answer but somehow seemed to accept the general theory.

Feeling like he was in the clear, Naruto breathed a little easier through his constricted throat.

"Is the risk associated with creampie the reason why you're drawn to it so much?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the unexpected connection. "Oh, no! I just think it's really hot a-and I like to watch it. My uncle had suggested it to me… So I watch it… Not because I get a thrill from the gamble of unprotected sex," Naruto explained quickly.

Sasuke doubtfully cocked his head to the side, his eyebrow shooting up.

"Have you ever—"

"No!" Naruto quickly denied, feeling his ears burn and his heart palpate. "I've never been… Y'know."

So it was true. Naruto had never been pregnant.

Sasuke slowly nodded, absorbing all this information for later use.

Naruto could conceive children and carry them to full term. Essentially he could either bear children or impregnate someone by his choosing. Sounded like a pretty versatile option when it came to selecting lovers.

Half boy, half girl… but all delicious.

Sasuke trudged forward slowly, his hands trapping Naruto in a box, a predator emerging from the falsehood of his natural inquisitiveness. He provocatively licked his lips and touched his nose into Naruto's, his vocal cords strumming a very low, dangerous tune. "So, _hypothetically_, if I were to **fuck** you…"

Blue eyes dug for an element of probability in those seamlessly misleading grey eyes. Was his hypothetical even possible? "_Hypothetically_," the dark haired man deeply repeated for emphasis.

He felt like this was a ruse to discuss the prospects of them engaging into sex so he became neurotic when Sasuke pushed against his hips.

When the shorter man shied away like a skittish kitten, Sasuke made sure to maintain their eye contact.

"Then you could potentially produce a baby." A faint hint of excitement charged Sasuke's perfectly pale lips as he gleefully toyed with the idea. "_Hypothetically_, of course."

Taking a hard breath, Naruto acknowledged Sasuke's keen inquiry. "_Hypothetically_." Naruto wet his lips. "Yes."

"That's really—" Sasuke poised his hand on Naruto's abdomen. "…_incredible_."

A dazzling euphoria wrangled Naruto's quivering soul. "It—It is." Naruto placed his hand over Sasuke's with a slightly confident smile.

"Do you… _want_ to have kids?"

Naruto momentarily thought Sasuke was asking him if he wanted to have a child for him but then he quickly adjusted his thinking cap straight, bustling to answer before the conversation smoked to ashes.

"I do, but not now… I'm graduating soon and I have a job. Now just wouldn't be a really good time…"

"Yeah," Sasuke torpidly said, oddly eyeballing Naruto like a delectable thanksgiving feast.

"Whoever you choose will be a really lucky guy," he quietly said.

If Naruto wasn't interpreting this incorrectly, Sasuke sounded heavily disappointed with the possibility that that part of his life wouldn't include him.

…But why?

"Um, _thanks_," Naruto muttered.

"M_hmm_." Sasuke drew back from the captive position, looking toward the kitchen.

Sasuke sighed. "Now, I'm really hungry."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Now _that_ sounds like a personal problem." Naruto closed his eyes and folded his arms as a distant echo defied his last mocking comment.

"What do you have _in here_?"

Naruto bristled, racing into the kitchen. "Sasuke! Get away from my fridge!"

…

Naruto couldn't stop fading in and out of rapturous daydreaming. He tapped his finger aside his cheek as his brain shed...

Babies.

Now, Sasuke knew that he had the capability of getting pregnant. He was initially uncomfortable admitting it to him because he didn't want it to negatively impact their relationship. Although he expected Sasuke to treat him differently it didn't appear to affect the Uchiha in the way that the expected. He seemed completely accepting about the new information but that didn't mean that his feelings weren't subject to change without notice like a Chinese restaurant menu.

"When you eat chicken fingers, do you ever think about human fingers?"

Naruto blinked and lifted his head from his hand. He glimpsed around, realizing he was on the college campus cafeteria with his acquaintance Kiba avoiding, eating lunch. All walks of life skidded through the lunch line, irritating chatter twitting through the air. Neighboring peers boldly whispered about his behind his back, literally.

He rolled his eyes at the monotony of them talking shit. Calling him a druggy, fag whore, cock sucker, and a drunk. Nothing out of the ordinary. They were just being more and more brazen about it.

His friend, Gaara didn't appear to be on campus today. Nor was he answering his text or phone calls. He really wished he would answer. He really missed him right now. Usually when he was beside him, he didn't even notice their indirect insults or feel the effect of their hateful comments. Without him, an extra layer of protection was gone.

As the dog-loving boy prodded his fingers into his meal, Naruto glared at the question. "No, why would I? I'm not a cannibal."

Kiba lifted the strip to eyes, closely inspecting them. "I dunno. Cause they're _supposedly_ fingers."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "You do realize they're not actually fingers, right?"

Kiba looked at Naruto, dumbfounded. "They're not?"

"Conversation, over." Naruto spun his wristband around, shaking his head at Kiba's impenetrable stupidity. If he didn't love him, he would have put six feet under already. It wouldn't be a hard concept to complete considering no one would come looking for the annoying scum bucket. Probably the police or possibly his mother, but even that would be a stretch. She got tired of Kiba's antics from time to time. So she wouldn't exactly question his disappearance.

Suddenly, a beautifully fragile man pristine as fresh white snow, walked in their direction. His silver eyes clouded with mischief as his elegant swan neck turned to the two boys with an 'aha' like he found what he was looking for. Pivoting to their table, a friendly smirk tweaking on his lips, he carefully leaned over the table, and put his knee in a nearby chair. He brushed his hair from his face and asked, "Hey, are you Naruto?"

Naruto glanced at him not exactly impressed with his disposition, nor his greeting. "Depends…" Naruto looked at him revolted. "Who's asking?"

"A friend of a friend?" The long haired brunette smiled. "Do you know Gaara?"

"Yeah, so?" Naruto frowned at the line of questioning.

"Boyfriend?" Neji asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"No… It's…complicated." Naruto looked around, embarrassed to admit the nature of their difficult relationship.

"How so?" Neji asked as he sat in the chair he was previously leaning in.

"We're _together_ but I'm waiting for him to make it official. He's still my friend now but more at the same time. Y'know?" Naruto straightened in his chair, trying to explain to the best of his ability. "I'm still in the friend zone—but… I'm still trying to get out."

Neji's gracious smile transformed to a one of mockery. "You have a better chance of surviving a tsunami than getting **Gaara** to learn commitment," he mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Naruto asked as he squinted his irritated blue eyes at the elusive pale man.

The mysterious male stood like he made a lifetime discovery. "_Nothing_—it was nice meeting you. Try to have a nice day."

Befuddled, Naruto watched the unidentified college student waltz away with an undeserved sense of accomplishment. Somehow, Naruto felt like he was orchestrating something scandalous against humanity—possibly him.

Kiba returned with a slice of freshly heated pizza, ogling the known person leaving the table. "Hey, who's Ms. USA?"

Naruto turned to Kiba, still surprised. "Shut up, Kiba."

…

"And you're here again why?" Sasuke questioned the crushed flannel shirt and the messily buttoned skinny jeans wearing individual while questioning why those vans were overturned on the living room carpet.

Neji turned on the television and ignored folded arms and displeased arms. "Because you love me."

"Now, seriously." Sasuke rolled his eyes, running his fingers through his silky hair. Just because they had instantly clicked at a college convention two years ago didn't mean that he was welcome to his home whenever he wanted. There were boundaries that he was aware. Unluckily for him, following rules wasn't one of Neji's strong suits. He did what he wanted even if upset Sasuke. Everytime he pulled an unwarranted stunt like this, it made Sasuke even more dejected that they ever met.

The younger male stuffed a pillow behind his head as he innocently looked into Sasuke's hostile grey eyes. "Because I need a place to crash."

Sasuke temporarily looked sympathetic. "There are some trash bins outside."

"Now, seriously." Neji frowned.

"Alright. You can stay but let me get the Lysol."

"Fuck off, Sasuke," Neji growled, his acidic glare almost rivaling Sasuke's. But he could only match his Sasuke's hatefulness if he misplaced his soul in hell.

"Can't... _Kinda_ my apartment..." Sasuke folded his mouth, sarcastically disappointed at the asinine command. "Where's your boyfriend?"

Neji sighed, flipping the channel. "We're not together anymore."

Sasuke warily looked at the long haired man and instantly smelled something fishy. "You never told me you two broke up."

"Sorry, next time I'll write the complete memo in a news article." Neji flipped the channel again.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Who was he anyways?"

"Some druggy douche," Neji grumbled, slouched in the couch, as blistering memories of their unparalleled love fantasy played in his mind, his lips latched to Gaara's, in the center of their bed.

Sasuke joined him on the couch, interested by Neji's apparent heartache. "I'm assuming you broke up with him."

"You've assumed right, asshole." Neji glared.

"Aw, bad memories resurfacing?" Sasuke ruffled Neji's hair in the way he knew the man hated with an unbridled passion.

"Fuck, Sasuke—don't do that!" Neji exclaimed, grabbing Sasuke's wrist.

Sasuke scoffed, removing his hand from the beautiful strands. "Don't be so goddamn stingy. You _are_ getting _your_ beauty sleep on _my_ couch."

'''

**Ah, and the plot thickens. Like broccoli & cheese soup. Thick but tasty… I'm hungry now. Anywho! Next chapter it gets better ^.- **

**Hey, you, thanks for reading, have a good day :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: Some displeasing content. Don't like, make love to the back button.**

A black contortion trembled over Naruto's vision, his head numbly spinning like a top, joints shaking like a seismic earthquake. The music tardily caused his body mass to double as it exploded through the makeshift walls, swallowing him into a suffocating darkness. Under its weight, he felt pressurized as his cells jumped at the explosion of noise.

The unyielding candidness night relied on the rims of vodka punch and kush being passed around like a baton, producing a pleasurable atmosphere. He united with his unofficial boyfriend to attend the athlete's kickback even though they weren't formally associated with them, was one of the better ideas he'd had all week. After going through five days of school and employment woes, he'd missed Gaara and this was his chance to spend some quality time with him. Gaara didn't favor playing in the sand, because this was his idea of recreational relaxation, not playing in the sand.

Excessively buzzed, he chummily moved forward pressuring his voluptuous ass on the host's personal night stand. He enticingly nipped at Gaara's neck, tongue flicking out like a sly kitten, sublimely purring. A heavy moan answered his ministrations, an indication for progression from the inebriated male. He cruelly hooked on Gaara's onto belt loops, hauling the enamored redhead's to his lap, then sliding his limp fingers to his zipper. The horny blond suggestively crashed his heated torso into Gaara's, hungrily attached to his, imagining the taste of Sasuke's tongue instead.

Naruto smoothly transitioned into faux embodiment of his beloved Uchiha, unremittedly thirsting for the replacement disgraceful desires through a bleary, drunken mist. Gorged in green desperation, he undid Gaara's belt buckle, only to be greeted with his vanishing enthusiasm.

Naruto intermittedly creaked with rigid anger as he grunted and slung his fist straight into Gaara's ribs.

The detrimental sign blared like a neon lights to the blond and he didn't need further explanation. Violently shoved the confused male aside, he vanished from the weed infested room, _pronto_.

Like an unwanted pawn in an elaborate game, Gaara never failed to avoid sleeping with him. He always either bowed out or changed activities whenever he could. If any passion subsided for him, beneath his skin, than he should have been jumping his bones at his wanton advancements whenever he wanted. But he never did. He just lingered in a strange twilight like he was uninterested in the thought of having him in that way.

Naruto understood that they weren't necessarily official but that didn't mean that they couldn't engage in a little fun.

In the doorway, Naruto watched a dubious senior varsity athlete blow a large puff of smoke across the drug coated table, and a brilliant idea sparked. If he were to "_play"_ with someone else, Gaara's envy would cox a sour reaction out of him and certainly fuel him take him around the world—and back. Maybe he would surpass flirting—and just for entertainment, possibly even fuck the poor sap. Gaara wouldn't be in so in tune with deflective conduct.

Naruto was quickly bound by his shifty emotions. He sifted through a list of unsuspecting victims awaiting his sea of evil deeds. He silently itched to tuck himself into someone's bed for the night—after his sexual prowess was finally satisfied. His gazes drifted from attractive, jollily intoxicated males having a swell time. In a twinkling, they latched onto his inviting glance. Then he momentarily considered fulfilling his impulsive wish. Sadly, his delight minimized after he internalized an image of Sasuke. He sucked his teeth and impatiently bustled through the front door. He needed to thwart his poorly devised plan. His solution: walk a mile home.

…

After sharing a "romantic night" with Sakura, Sasuke was disappointed that he still thought about Naruto the duration of the time. Although they adventured into a salacious makeout session with her, he couldn't feel the spark come to life. It wasn't for a lack of trying. When he stared into her glimmering algae green eyes, he remembered all the reasons he initiated the relationship in the first place but, still, he still found his efforts in vain. Their banter seemed so dry that he was strongly tempted to chug his glass of water after the exchange.

Even with the elegance of her of her egg shell white skin, the attraction all but diminished. And dealing with the banishment of the honeymoon period was less than appealing.

Shortly after the dinner, she begged him to spend the night but he refused. He knew that it would lead to something less than appealing. So instead he charged home like a bull on steroids. He did text Sakura a short, sweet goodnight before rolling into the sack and then migrating into sweet dreams of Naruto.

…

Sasuke's hair represented a jumbled bird's nest, as he lie naked as the day he was born. Fuzzy grey eyes pulled open and carefully scanned the room for irregularities. As he sat upright, an unmistakable image of sexy sapphire eyes clouded vision and corrupted his mind. He felt a pang of lust as he tussled out of the thin sheets, he was welcomed by his proudly jutting erection. Staring at the bright red tip, he groaned trudging into the shower. Extra cold, coming up.

…

He damned his frisky attitude, then he got out of the shower freshly erection-free, answering his early morning Saturday phone call.

Smiling, he hung up and got dressed; for Sasuke Uchiha had somewhere be.

…

Practically in the same position he was in last night at the party, thighs divided by Sasuke's hips, Naruto strummed his fingers over the baby hairs on the back of the Uchiha's neck, fancying his beauty. He fisted the meat of Sasuke's graphic tee, as he sunk his teeth into Sasuke's jugular, palming his shapely ass. He wrapped his sturdy legs around Sasuke's waist, as he grappled for balance on the couch arm, using Sasuke as leverage.

The horrible night faded into the onslaught of this excellent morning. His scent, his touch, even The Uchiha's low purr instantly improved Naruto's rejected mood and unrelenting hangover. He happily licked at the available skin, appreciating that Sasuke handled him like fine china. He was so tempted to fetch lube from his nightstand to do the unthinkable. But Naruto settled for a kiss on the chin.

The glaze of the autumn sun flared through the window's guarding shingles. Birds chirped aloud and cars roared to life in the apartment lot but no sound was able to carry out an interruption. Interest grazed the outer recesses of their senses but didn't linger over their inhibitions. They both knew exactly what they were doing.

And this attraction wasn't something that heeded preventative measures. It only sunk their better judgment, unwittingly infecting their morals assessments. A helplessness that people only experienced once in a life time. People like them...

Although he felt the sexual interest seep into Sasuke's blood like quick sand, Naruto still held onto his reservations. Sasuke was here and ready but he was still holding out hope that Gaara would stop pussying out and fuck him already. He wasn't really asking for much. He wanted the red haired to commit to him so he could stop trying to pursue other options. But it was really hard, especially when he quietly wished it was Sasuke dominating him. And judging by the events of last night, he knew he didn't want just any guy. He wanted _Sasuke_.

Oh, and what wouldn't give to have Sasuke… All to himself.

He really was… different. He never minded expressing his affection for him when he needed it. And he knew if Sasuke had the chance, he would take him to bed. Pun intended.

Sadly, he couldn't say the same for his lover, Gaara. He seemed so hesitant to go any further then they had been going.

He really wished he hadn't become a wasted mess last night but it was really necessary. Each strong hit of alcohol extorted one hidden truth after another. The truth being that… he would love to have Sasuke as his boyfriend instead.

As he traced the solid contours of Sasuke's solid waist, he leaned against the ivory smooth skin, and murmured with a shameful amount of conviction, "I missed you so much."

…

Sasuke broke down his front door and rushed inside before he had an accident. And by accident, he meant cumming in his pants.

The pressure alone was really beginning to worry him. He didn't like the idea of cleaning the gooey mess out of his pants. It would be inconvenient, and nevertheless annoying, considering he showered less than half an hour ago.

He struggled to make his strides longer. He didn't stop until he reached his bedroom and stripped off his drainpipe jeans. Finally he was able to successfully free his blue balls from his compressing boxers. He hissed as the unbinding pleasure floated from the base of his pelvis. He carefully teasingly touched the head of his cock with one hand as the other fondled his restless balls. As the slippery slit produced a steady fountain of precum, he rubbed it.

Huddling over the footboard, toes curling into the plush of the carpet, Sasuke finally entered the journey of extending his fingers over his entire length. He slowly pumped the eager muscle.

The beautiful blond's teasing caused a massive avalanche of combustive pleasure to head. Naruto was lucky. If he hadn't learned self-control from the unquenchable blood lust he had toward his older brother, then he would have just simply folded Naruto like a god damn taco shell and fucked him like a mental patient on crack. But, fortunately, he was controlling himself. For the greater good. Sakura's good.

In order to keep the universe intact also.

If were to actually rock Naruto's world, he would literally shatter the time space continuum. And Naruto's ass.

But was it possible to not picture it?

Those soft, pert lips proactively doing unspeakable things…

_Wrapped around his cock, hallowed cheeks and an actively pleasing tongue enthusiastically massaging it to completion…_

He vigorously pumped his anxious member, then he released into his onto his exerted fingers, as his body convulsed from the freedom of pressure. The pleasure mounted and fell and he felt his lungs launch into full operation again.

Gratefully unwinding, Sasuke glanced to his left at the laminated bathroom tiles with grief.

Another shower was in order.

Sasuke stressfully closed his eyes, tilting his head toward the heavens.

Just _fucking_ great.

…

Even though he had nothing to say to Gaara as of late, he was still here looking at habanero red cascaded tantalizing moss colored eyes. He wanted to scream at him and punch in the jaw for sexually standing up Saturday but he didn't because he was Gaara. He probably had some explanation as to why he didn't fuck him that night. And it probably was a good reason. It might have been more of an excuse, but he didn't judge. He was willing to listen as long as he didn't try to bullshit him in an attempt to undo the frisky anger that was dwelling.

He had people lined up to replace him—_and_ do the job he wasn't. Namely, Sasuke Uchiha.

_And_ if was willing to turn him down, Sasuke was willing to pick up. Either way, Naruto was fine with it.

"_Naruto._" The blond made no effort to return the kiss Gaara pressed on his lips. He remained motionless on the couch, portraying no sign of living emotion to the man.

The red haired man recognized the empty response as Naruto's way of shutting down. "About Saturday," he began slowly, putting his hand on Naruto's knee that dangled aimlessly from the cushion.

"Yeah, **what** _about_ Saturday?" Naruto fired out, his blue eyes looking over Gaara like he had just murdered the innocent.

"I was thinking… This Saturday is your birthday. That could be the day we consummate our relationship."

Naruto brightened like a candle. The romantic aspects of such a night with his one true love? Complete bliss.

Gaara was asking him to officially be his boyfriend. It… was really happening. He couldn't believe it.

He put his hand over Gaara's with a smile, noticing his wrist was missing his wrist watch he had given him. Caught up in the moment, he didn't care to analyze it any further. "Really?"

"Yeah." He kissed Naruto again on the lips.

It would have been a perfect time for him to be wearing the watch but it was okay. Gaara must have forgotten the watch at home. He would try to remind him about it later. Right now, he was just excited that he and Gaara were… finally together.

Hovering Naruto's beautiful lips, he felt the urge to take devour Naruto. "Unless… You want your birthday present early."

Naruto chuckled at Gaara's handsome smirk.

The slate was clean. Naruto had no reason to be mad anymore. Gaara was now his boyfriend, and if all the chips fell into place, this would be the best birthday ever. Well compared to past ones, anyway.

"Only if you're willing to give it early…" Naruto crawled into Gaara's lap, latching onto his lips like a newborn leach.

Gaara slipped his hand into the back of Naruto's shirt, his teeth capturing Naruto's ear lobe. "I'm gonna turn your fucking world upside down, and leave you begging for _more_."

Naruto dumbly nodded, slightly laughing at the pleasant pleasure tickling his sensors.

It would surely be a night to remember.

…

Neji wasn't a liar. He may have spun the truth and maybe twisted it every once in a while but he _never_ lied. Lying would compromise his moral code, which consisted of wholehearted honesty. One thing Neji hated more than telling lies, was living breathing was liars. People who basically deviated from the truth for their own selfish reasons. People like this usually complicated things, making everyone's life harder to lead. Although it would be better if individuals like those disappeared, but he knew that would never be possible.

He always tried to admit to the truth even if it hurt. He didn't lie. And when he told Gaara he wasn't over him, he wasn't lying. Gaara did release a fair amount of sexual frustration on him. Even so, he still didn't accept his honesty. He thought that the one night would restore the galaxy they had before the night he had to rush Gaara from his apartment to the emergency room from his meth overdose. If he hadn't come over just in the nick of time, Gaara would have…

A crackling sigh broke through Neji's lungs as he placed down the intimate picture of him and Gaara. A faint shadow of pain dispelled the memories when he tossed the frame back into its rightful place. The trash pile.

He stared at it, knowing he had a choice to make.

He had recently traveled to Gaara in attempt to vainly reconcile. Surprisingly, he rebuked him _and_ his body.

"_What do you mean 'no'?" Neji asked, denying the impending dread that was sure to follow. _

"_No, meaning I truly don't want you anymore." Gaara emphasized every possible syllable, stepping to the equally heighted man. _

_The long haired man appeared confused at the new independence. And maybe his new dependence. _

_His protective posture and his neglectful expression aroused an odd, new defenselessness in the silver eyed man. _

"_You don't mean that. You—"_

"_I'm committed to Naruto. I refuse to make any more mistakes with you, no matter how tempted I am."_

_Gaara turned his back, the placid horror on Neji's face not fazing him in the least. He wasn't concerned about what he wanted anymore. He wasn't going to allow him to control him anymore. They had their time together—it was torrid and it was passionate but it also ended. He had a future with someone. And it lied with Naruto, not with him. _

"_Gaara—"_

"_Though I'm unsure what grudge you have against Naruto, But there's two things you need to know about him before you leave. Saturday's his birthday and I'm going to fuck him until he can't move." Gaara turned to him dastardly smirking, penitence lacking. "Actually, there's a third one. There's nothing you can do about it."_

"_I think," Gaara poured himself a glass of vodka, "I've been hung up on you long enough."_

_There was mind boggling silence that stripped any hope from Neji's heart. The last piece of plaster crumbled as Gaara carefully uttered, "Get out."_

…

"And why are you here again?" Sasuke rubbed his hand over his face. His menace was here again… To ruin his life? Perhaps. To take it? Probably. To interrupt it? Most definitely.

Whatever intention he came with, Sasuke wanted him to turn around and walk right through that door.

Unfortunately, he knew that he wasn't going to get that wish. Neji was already slouched in his couch in a position similar to two weeks ago when by Sasuke's standards, he begged to crash at his place.

It was strange that he was here in more than a month. As annoying as he was, the fucker hardly kept in contact like a professional pest should. Was something wrong? Or was something bothering him? Or had he come to tell him that he had found Christ and he wanted him to join him at the local Baptist church? Oh God no—no pun intended—but he just couldn't. He and God's phone line disconnected the second Itachi forcibly dyed his hair fifth grade. He had believed in a higher power but was skeptical of Jesus Christ the second his homeroom teacher gasped at his green mane. From then, God was a background aspect.

Concentrated on Neji's emotionless face for any camouflaged symbols of stress, Sasuke sifted for a splash of emotion. But there wasn't any.

Drawing back into the partner sofa, Sasuke was shocked when the man began to speak with little to no prompting.

"Earlier you asked about my ex and ever since I couldn't stop thinking about him…"

Sasuke flinched. Was Neji showcasing feelings? He wasn't sure if he should be honored or frightened… This was coming from Neji. Someone who could ignore a hurricane washing away his home if it meant he could get a few more minutes of sleep. Not because he was lazy but just because he just didn't give a fuck.

Was… he finally experiencing Neji giving a fuck?

_NO_…

"What in particular have you been thinking about?"

Swallowing hard, Sasuke slowly guided the conversation from its deepness into safe territory. He didn't want the vulnerable brunet to feel pressured to expose his confession. It would only complicate the situation for the senior year, college student, which was the last thing he wanted to do.

Neji sullenly continued, "Our entire relationship. It was a real… _disaster_—from beginning to end."

His face muscles strained as he nervously clawed his jeans. "Freshman year, I met this guy named Gaara."

Sasuke balked, feeling like his brain just exploded and splattered on the walls nearby. His heart rate skyrocketed to abnormal levels as his eyes comically widened.

Neji had dated Gaara? The same guy that Naruto was seeing?

Sasuke could barely contain himself as Neji stressfully ran his fingers through his hair, completing the story.

"I thought that he was something special—hell, you could even say I was in love with him. But—" Neji paused, emotionally drained at the desolate memory. "We weren't exactly compatible. He had an affinity for drugs and alcohol… And I'm not really into things like that contrary to popular belief." Neji sighed as dreaded his life like memory of the incident. "Then one day I found him near death in his apartment. And I tried to get him help… But he didn't want that. Then… the next time I blinked, we were over."

A sad smile fell on him and Sasuke felt sympathy ooze out for his old friend. He had personally never seen him plagued over anything, especially over a man.

He always seemed to have thick skin, not the thin, pale, pitiful skin of someone whose heart was shattered—by a clown like Gaara.

"I recently reconnected with him a few times and it turns out he's with some blond bimbo named Naruto. Looks like a complete whore. But if that's what he likes… What am I to do?" Neji said.

Paralyzed, Sasuke was still able to defend what he knew was right. "Naruto's not a whore."

Enlightenment spread across Neji. "I see he's gotten to you too. I'm not really surprised you _know_ him too…"

Neji didn't await Sasuke's delayed response. If he was taking so long to answer then the truth was confirmed.

"Y'know, it doesn't even matter what you do with _him_. Just make sure he has a wonderful birthday." Neji pulled a watch out of pocket, treacherously smiling as he handed it to the shocked Uchiha.

He carelessly walked to the door, relaying an important message in his departure. "Let 'em know Gaara left that about, mmmm, a week ago… Yeah, a week ago. Later."

As the door closed, Sasuke wished his life was simpler.

…

It was almost 8:30 at night and Sasuke hadn't made one phone call, sent one text, let alone moved from the position Neji had left him in. What was he to do? How would he go about dealing with something like this? He could reveal the truth to Naruto under these dire circumstances or he could remain silent and hope things work out for the best.

As Sasuke felt the crevices of fine piece of craftsmanship, he was dismayed about the engraved lettering on the watch's sterling silver back, '_From Naruto: I love you_.'

Sasuke softly gasped as he unknowingly felt the cramp that settled in his knuckles from holding the cursed jewelry so tight.

"And Naruto's _in love_ with him." He deeply sighed, feeling the pressure of his decision.

He didn't know whether to be jealous or disappointed with the new development. It did explain the floating questions he had. The reason he and Gaara had come over at the same time. Where Naruto ran to after Sakura had upset him. And why Naruto wouldn't unveil the nature of their relationship to him when he directly inquired about it.

He was sure that everything had been answered and yet, he was still feeling left in the dark.

If he was so in love with Gaara, then what was he to Naruto? Chop liver?

Hell no, he refused to believe that. He knew few things in life were true and this connection was one of them.

Naruto couldn't make up these feelings even if he tried.

In spite of his feelings for Gaara, he still faltered under the grant weight of temptation. His feelings were real and he knew it. Sasuke could feel it. He wanted him as much as he wanted him.

And if Gaara really loved, wanted him equally he wouldn't have backtracked to his last relationship.

He was a snake—a dog—unworthy of Naruto or anyone good for that matter. Tonight would be the night Sasuke would prove that to Naruto.

…

Lighting a cinnamon scented candle on the table, Naruto checked the blaze on the stem with amazement. The new dimmed lighting exhibited a romantically sultry side to his Moroccan styled apartment. He was preparing for Gaara's impending arrival, he presumed with fresh flowers. Trickling with excitement, Naruto smiled, hugging the professional lighter, joggling in his teal bootie shorts and white cropped belly shirt. After all the foreplay, his hindrance-free clothing would be easy access to the one thing his _boyfriend_ would be after.

After almost two years, they would finally confirm their solid relationship.

In a few minutes time, his life would be complete.

The transformation of his usually bland apartment was nearly finished when a stirring occurred at his front door. He dashed to meet someone he most definitely wasn't expecting. His clamming hands the further open as he stepped forward to the apparently tortured Uchiha. Confusion set in as he looked at Sasuke's skillfully elusive eyes.

Sasuke defenselessly skirted into the curious blue gaze, sections of his dark bangs fell onto his irregularly flushed face as his hand fished into his pocket for evidence reference.

His eyes widened and his heart raced as his looked up at him. "Sasuke… What are you doing here?"

"Naruto—I have something to tell you." Sasuke sorely inspected Naruto's outfit. He was scantily clad as if…

Choking on excess spit, Sasuke remembered it wasn't _him _he was expecting.

"Tell me what? Couldn't be anything that you couldn't send in a text message." Naruto huffed, his chubby cheeks puffing in irritation.

'_Trust me, this isn't news you want to receive over the phone…_' he guiltily thought. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. As he looked at Naruto's shining robin egg blue eyes, he wanted to return home like nothing ever happened. Naruto unconditionally loved Gaara. He didn't have the right to intervene with their relationship especially when he had his own to worry about.

As options caused his frozen body to sizzle, he felt Naruto softly touch his arm. "Sasuke…"

His kissable pink lips slightly frowned. "What's the matter?" His voice that sounded like it was coated with honey asked with great hesitation.

He decided. Naruto deserved only the best—and Gaara didn't qualify.

"Naruto, Gaara hasn't exactly been faithful to you."

Confused, anger raising like ocean waves, Naruto instantly pushed Sasuke away. "What the fuck Sasuke?! How would you even know that?"

"Because Naruto—"

Naruto weaved his hand into his hair in frustration. "No, shut the fuck up. Before you come here with your jealous accusations, you should at least have one shred of—"

Sasuke whipped out the watch, its exposure contributing greatly to Naruto's muted flurry.

_Proof._

"He wasn't wearing this because he left it at his ex's… Neji. He told him me that he had sleeping with him for weeks, Naruto," Sasuke quietly enlightened, checking Naruto's reaction.

A slow flush creeped up onto Naruto's neck thanks to fresh embarrassment and sheer fury. Naruto carefully took the watch from Sasuke's hand and looked at it, despondent. His esophagus tangled in an irreversible knot as he grittily whispered, "That's where it was…"

Their indistinguishable bond impacted the delivery of the news greatly. The disappointment and the droves of empathy poured from Sasuke's glittering grey eyes proved to Naruto he was telling nothing but the truth. It wasn't dressed in wickedness or envy like Naruto originally thought.

Humiliated, Naruto took the watch in his hand, feeling his dry mouth ask Sasuke to leave. Sasuke examined his construction of Naruto's reaction, delaying any movement from him.

Feeling a pound of weight and pressure pile of his shaking figure, tears closing in, he looked at Sasuke pleadingly. "_Please_."

Sasuke abided by his wishes, respecting that he was probably the last person he would want around. Incidentally, he still had his lover while Naruto just lost his.

…

Sitting in petrifying silence, Naruto pitifully twirled the watch's wristband in his hand. Not too long after, Gaara trudged into his apartment, not a care in the world.

He dare not move. He feared if he did, he would break into a million pieces. But his world caved in like a dying supernova as the immodest individual encouragingly contacted with his supple flesh.

Gaara was pleased with the frame of Naruto's apartment. Naruto was dressed properly for the occasion, just to his liking. But when he tried to move into position, the distrait birthday boy bucked off the hand's advancement with an angry flick of his wrist.

"Don't touch me, you cheating, lying bastard!" An enraged Naruto flew to his feet, explosively confronting Gaara.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gaara asked, confused.

"You know what the fuck I'm talking about!" Naruto screamed at the top his lungs. "Fucking your ex? Really?!"

Gaara internally crumbled, feeling his jaw slacken at the accusation. "Naruto, where are you getting all this from? You know I would never do that to you." _Still denying._

An inherent blaze of hysteria blinded him almost as much as Gaara's continuous lies did. "Yes, you would and you did! Your watch didn't just walk there by its fucking self, dumbass!"

Gaara soft green eyes hardened with an agitated glare.

"I trusted you. I loved you… and this is what I get in return?" Naruto asked, feeling his bones fire above 212 degrees. "When your father died and you had nobody, I was fucking there for you! Day and night, no questions asked and this is what I get… Is this what I deserve, Gaara?" Naruto adrenaline fueled belt exposed the turbulent and hurt little boy sealed inside him. Betrayal summer saluted in his belly as his outburst's conclusion didn't draw near by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, he was just getting started.

Naruto's angered flame was temporarily doused with sadness. Tears brimmed his acidic indigo eyes, his cheeks flaring like fourth July fireworks. "I cared for you like my child, Gaara… and this is how you betray me?"

Naruto's mind reeled. How long had this been going on? Since the beginning? Near the end? In the middle? Was this the reason he wouldn't have sex with him? Because he was still thinking of him? Was he just a replacement that he used to absorb the romantic loss?

His heart murmured in his ribcage as he disgustedly reminisced on all the intimate moments they shared. Disgraced in how false they were, Naruto felt his stomach dangerously lurch. Everything he thought was real was a lie and everything he once cherished now meant nothing. _He_ meant nothing.

Naruto's proclivity to splurge his emotions caused Gaara inwardly sulk, his heart blanketed with guilty upsurges. Given the option to choose Naruto over Neji, he didn't take it, leaving him without a leg to stand on.

"Naruto, I love you and… I can explain."

Gaara extended out his arm to Naruto, caressing his naked shoulder. "I said—" In violent retaliation, Naruto's fist cracked into the naive man's jaw. Gaara's face was thrown to the side as he tried to recover from the heavy blow.

"Don't fucking touch me—you asshole!"

"If you wanted to stick your dick where it didn't belong than you should have just told me so I wouldn't have to waste my _FUCKING_ time!" Naruto paced back and forth two times before his reaction came to an abrupt halt. He ran his hand over his face as Gaara emotionlessly viewed it through his sore eyes, still feeling the ache in his left jaw thud with his heartbeat. Wrestling with inharmonious emotions, Naruto felt the buoyancy of the sorrow float to the surface again.

Naruto disbelievingly smiled. "I can't believe I was fooled by you."

Squeezing his shaking hands together, ignoring the pain in his chest, Naruto heard the words he hated with a living passion. "I love you, Naruto."

"Stop fucking saying that, you don't love me and you never did! You loved that other man that you were fucking!" Naruto yelled, unhinged. "Now, get the fuck out before I do something I regret more than ever getting involved with you!"

Gaara stood like a hollow tree in the center of Naruto's living room like the words were still unsaid.

"NOW!" Naruto shrieked, finally getting his wish.

There was never going to be any solace ground between them. Naruto was done with him, through and through. A promise he wouldn't withdraw.

With that last choice, he was alone like before.

…

As he neared the call of midnight, Naruto was dissatisfied that Sasuke had returned. Seemed like being a harmful nuisance wasn't Sasuke's only flaw but not listening was a horrible imperfection as well.

Vibrating from the rueful situation, Naruto detected the beautiful sincerity dripping from his faithful counterpart.

Chilling with agony, Naruto felt his dam buckle under the mass of his devastation. "Please don't say-y I told you so," Naruto sobbed out in the door way, shielding his face in his small hands.

Fuck, Sasuke was the last person he wanted to see him in this condition. The man he accidentally had cheated on him. He defended Gaara and had nothing to show for it.

Sasuke was quick to comfort the grieving man, trapping him in a tight embrace. He held the back of his head carefully, tightly squeezing his waist. Relishing the direct contact, Naruto buried his face into his shoulder of his crisp leather jacket, expunging his cover, letting everything out.

"He was my e-everything. Every-e-verything," Naruto eagerly explained into the safety of Sasuke's shoulder. Tears rampant, Naruto fastened his arms around Sasuke's firm middle, finally appreciating Sasuke coming back. If he wasn't here, then he would have to face all this pain alone. For that, he was indescribably thankful, more than the man holding him would ever know.

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes, absorbing the brunt of Naruto's sadness. Unfortunately, he couldn't relate. But what he could do is be there for him.

…

Sasuke removed his shoes and his Versace leather jacket and guided Naruto into the organized master bedroom to emotionally deflate. Silently following Sasuke, hand in hand, he wiped away the remaining liquid on heated cheeks. They made themselves comfortable on Naruto's personal mattress, lying there, side by side, heart to heart.

"Today's supposed to be my birthday," Naruto hoarsely whispered to the sympathetic male beside him. Dearly tracing the slender edge of Sasuke's nose bone, the splashes of the corner lamp light tinting his white skin bronze, Naruto felt his heart sink even further. As he lowered his thumb to Sasuke's parted lips, he silently wished these were the lips he had been associated with for the past two years.

He could have had someone who wasn't deceptive, who genuinely loved him. Instead, he got stuck with an imposter.

Fate must have had a grudge.

"I w-wasted my time, Sasuke. All of it… for a mistake…" Naruto uneasily exhaled, the intense subject sending his heart plummeting.

"Naruto," Sasuke touched the side of Naruto's face, "he wasn't a mistake."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? How can you say that dirtbag wasn't a mistake?" Naruto angrily asked, raising his neck slightly.

"Because he's a lesson learned," Sasuke said, shocking Naruto. "I don't think you should regret the experience… Think of it as a stepping stone."

"You're right," Naruto mumbled, realizing he was saying that to Sasuke often lately.

"He didn't understand what he was giving up… Because…" Sasuke pulled Naruto in closer by his hip. "I would have never done that to you."

"I know…" Naruto kissed Sasuke at the corner of his mouth, holding his face in his hesitant hands. "I _know_."

If the truth was somehow revealed before he met Sasuke then he would have probably have taken Gaara back and tried to rescue the fragments of their relationship. Post Sasuke, he realized his life couldn't be consumed by one person. Nor could he be deluded by sheer naivety.

Sasuke taught him that he was _better_ than that.

To believe his life could constantly revolve around his lover was shallow one-sided thinking.

Sure, humans weren't perfect. They held the potential to hurt, in spite of love. Deliverance from hurt was uncommon because humans rarely apologized for their deliberant actions.

_Gaara_ never apologized for his deliberant actions.

And deserved _better_ than that.

Naruto turned on his side. "_Why_ would he do that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke remained rooted on his back, his hand behind his head of dark hair. "I don't know, Naruto because it doesn't really make sense to me." Naruto identified the raw expression on Sasuke's face, then he discovered it was confusion.

Why he was, Naruto couldn't place—he _was_ trash. Same as Gaara. Things like this were bound to happen.

Sasuke turned his head, eyes swimming in affection, motivated by the positive depictions he illustrated in his head, stressing a point Naruto had yet to understand. Cupping his cheek, his index finger seeking those lilac velvety slick lips in reach. "Your smile, your laugh… I don't understand why he would even _think_—about someone else."

Naruto felt an electric bond shock him into submission. The smoky glimpses exchanges demanded physical contact so Naruto gladly accepted Sasuke pulling him on top of him, legs snarled, pelvises united. Sweeping his arms over Sasuke's burly shoulders, he continued listening raptly. "He's just a fucking idiot. What more can I say?" Sasuke said.

"You deserve better… someone who will love and cherish you. Hopefully, someone who'll give you the sun and the moon." Sasuke faintly smiled, recognizing the positive heap of sad tears leak from Naruto's eyes. Brushing away the pesky tears, Sasuke encouragingly looked at Naruto, mutely welcoming him to use him as a vent. Grateful, Naruto cried, a light sniffle pouring out.

What if hadn't met Sasuke? He would be so lost right now. Indescribably alone, despite Sakura.

Thankfully, he had met him and gotten to know him. Which had him thinking… maybe fate didn't hate him _so_ much.

"You really _a-are_ prince charming," Naruto distraughtly said, remembering that he wasn't his prince charming.

Grunting in amusement, Sasuke kissed Naruto on the lips for the first time. Lungs emptying, eyes fluttering closed, Naruto silently enjoyed the softest, sweetest kiss he ever endured in his life. It wasn't dripping in lust or selfish gain. It was simple and comforting. Just what Naruto needed.

Feeling fingertips rub over his red hot cheeks into his rugged threads of amber eventually transfixed by consoling hands bracing his bare hips, he felt his sorrow melt away into a restful peacefulness. Relaxing his head onto Sasuke's chest, he succumbed to the bating darkness, pacified by the rhythm of Sasuke's heart.

…

Awee, they kissed :D  
>Review for the ultimate sexy things you've been waiting for next chapter? [;<p>

I finished my college class so I'm free to update. Plus I got the mojo back? Mutha fucka I'm back! muhaha :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, there's something I need to share. In July 2011, after the updates of The Wedding Planner slowed down, I became sick. I was diagnosed with severe anemia. They wanted to hospitalize me but I refused. I tried to be normal but I really couldn't. I was not tired, I was **_**fatigued**_**. I could barely finish my school work, interact with my friends, hell, even make it to school on time. I transferred from a school in the Bronx, where I was being sexually harassed by several boys and **_**girls**_**. Stressed, I still tried to update. The school I currently attend, I absolutely HATE with the burning passion of a million hells. They threatened to fail me because I was a transfer student and "I wasn't there at the beginning of the school year." Soon after I was enrolled, I was diagnosed with depression combined with my ailing anemia. The chronic fatigue from both my illnesses was literally MURDERING my body. I sleep 12+ hours a day but I'm still exhausted. Yet, through about July 2011 to now, I still tried to update for you guys. This is not an invitation to my pity party. This is just a reminder that I am a real human being with REAL problems. Believe me, I'm not one of those authors who sit on their ass only to update when he/she feels like it. I'm one of those authors 'where circumstances alter cases'. I love to update and I try to update regularly but I AM SICK, mentally and physically. I am doing the best I can. I promise I will finish every single story I have started but please I need time so I can concentrate on my health, while maintaining these stories. With that said, please enjoy the 9****th**** and most important chapter of Element =) **

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything. Blehhh, blehh, bleh, blah blah._

**Warning****: This chapter contains explicit themes and displeasing content between two men! If you don't like it, please fuck the back button, then yourself. Okay? ^.^**

**||.:Element:.||**

The cool sun gently shook Naruto awake under its embracing rays, directly influencing one blurry blue eye to canvass the area for any trace of movement. When nothing compensated his reservations, he grunted, mildly appreciative for another blessed day on Earth, despite yesterday's horrors. He didn't want the previous day to demolish the pleasure of today but it was hard to keep such an optimistic, well-rounded mindset after every abominable situation that arose.

Now, Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew everything happened for a reason. Harmful or pleasant, all that happened was meant for him, whether he wanted it or not. Everything happened for a reason. Just as Gaara was meant to be unfaithful, was just Sasuke was meant to break him the bad news.

He wasn't particularly angry about it as of now, just slightly shocked and oddly numb. He had spent more time last night examining faults within himself, not Gaara.

He was constantly pondering what made Gaara stray. Was it something he said? Or was it something he did? Was it just his likeness in general? He was replaying every moment, every memory trying to uncover what was the true reason for Gaara's unmistakable infidelity. Even after all the thinking, he still couldn't pinpoint where they went wrong. Maybe the answer was under his nose and he hadn't noticed it the entire time. Maybe that was why nothing lasted. He had the wool pulled over his eyes and he couldn't see the splinters piercing their special union.

As he came into contact with the placid skin of the accompanying Uchiha, his heart madly fluttered like a newborn butterfly. His previous troubles dispersed with a stalwart of solace when he touched the curve of his pertinent collar bone.

Infected by the contagious fragrance dusking the crook of Sasuke's milky neck, the dazed college student greedily accepted the scent. In the same breath, his conquering lips brushed the pulsing jugular, rousing the young gentlemen beside him from his restful sleep. Smirking with accomplishment, Naruto's hearing carted in the low mumble of Sasuke's previously inactive throat. Though incomprehensible, the blond replied the recommended courtesy of 'good morning.'

Naruto rolled onto the safety of his pillow, confidence skyrocketing as the older man's toes curled into the heavyset duvet. Paying testimony to the finest beauty of the world and personally commemorating the mildly delightful expression plastering Sasuke's face, Naruto disclosed a hidden smile that defied the cavity in which he had abandoned it in. Slowly one grey eye smiled from beneath its lid, impeling Naruto to remove stray strands obscuring the ivory sculpture's visage, intimately kissing the corner of Sasuke's nose.

Grunting in approval, the dark haired man unwarrantedly explored his exposed midsection. Gasping in surprise, bowering into a surreally perfect universe, he scooted closer to the second heat source. Buckling into the morning warmth, Naruto unleashed a stirring sigh, enjoying Sasuke's embrace. As hands fell on the sinfully touchable skin, Sasuke miraculously mumbled something in kind, Naruto understood though it was only partially audible. "Morning."

When their eyes joined, Sasuke sensed the celestial blue eyes dim from the jackhammer of damaging memories.

He wanted to ask about the prevailing emotions he knew Naruto was currently dealing with. "How do you feel?" Sasuke muttered, rotating Naruto's flaxen hips onto his.

"Is that a trick question?" Naruto asked, cloaking his apparent disappointment.

"Do I look like a mime to you?" Sasuke asked, failing by answering a question with a question.

"Do you _really_ want me to answer that?" Naruto sheepishly smiled feeling the most comfortable than he had never been in his entire life. But there was no way in living hell that he could profess that. How silly would he sound? He and Gaara had come to a screeching halt last night he couldn't be admit to being so cozy to someone that he shouldn't be comfortable with. It wouldn't be right. Sakura was supposed to be the wonderful lover, the person that he took care of, cherished, _loved_…Not him.

It was too much… Like his world was slowly spinning… backward.

Sasuke kissed him…

Yes, the kiss was unexpected, but it was not in the least bit unwelcome. The kiss wasn't searching but certain, not sexual but affectionate. For someone that frequently received the short end of the stick in life and in romance, this was a confusing, rare surprise. He didn't really think Sasuke would try to soothe him with kisses, much less want to. And he certainly never anticipated Sasuke becoming a common consoler. At first glance, he'd written him off as a nuisance with an ulterior agenda. Now, the residue from his foul misconceptions smeared his mouth. Sasuke had clearly become much more than a botheration.

_Because that was the type of kiss that altered the outcome of your future. _

Though he preferred to shed the experience to avoid conflict, he couldn't just mentally obliterate such a valuable experience, eliminate such unforgettable feelings. He could be disposing of something priceless, a potential gem that you only unearth once in a lifetime. He didn't want to waste any more precious time. He wanted to behold the beauty of a bizarre pearl and finally gain a slim slice of happiness.

"If you want to die, you _will._" Sasuke grumbled, irritation molding his once lively tone.

Naruto laughed at his sudden mood change. "That wouldn't be such a bad idea."

The armor of Sasuke's phony aggravation vanished, substituted with an empathetic replacement. He slowly rode his knuckles down the curve of Naruto's plump cheeks, warping the hardship of the male's grisly humor. "Don't say that. Morbid talk doesn't suit you."

Slowly, Naruto's happiness terminated, substituted by a displaced frown that harmed the beautiful daisy. He attempted to explain his position, only to avoid confusion. "I didn't really mean that, I just feel crummy."

Sasuke half-smirked, his bedhead sexiness coming to light. "Crummy? Is that the vocabulary you've acquired in college?" He condescendingly asked.

In mild shock, Naruto slowly replied. "And you wonder _why_, I _don't_ like you."

"Oh, please. You like me just fine."

"No, you mean, you like _me_ just fine."

A space of hollow silence shortly adopted the idle chatter. As Sasuke's lips stilled with mild surprise, Naruto felt compelled to fill the emptiness. He quickly glanced at Sasuke's lips then focused back on his eyes. "About last night…"

"_Don't_," Sasuke began, "worry about it."

Feeling disarmed, Sasuke received a negative vibe from Naruto—rejection. He knew crossing any destructive boundary would have Naruto thinking he was an opportunist taking advantage of him.

Mentally stabbing himself in the heart, Sasuke proceeded. "It was impulse … It was stupid."

"Is the great Sasuke Uchiha apologizing?" Naruto theatrically gasped. "Should I duck to avoid the impeding lightening?" Naruto giggled but Sasuke could still see the traces of hurt embedded in his smile. Obviously, Gaara still encroached on every aspect on his life and he was going to for a long time. There were pictures, trinkets, special locations that would remind him of the time they shared together. Memories that would never fade.

He wished that there was something he could say or do to erase his pain and mend this misery, but there wasn't.

Time was the only healing agent he could wholeheartedly depend on. But even after a sizeable amount passed, Naruto would still love him. He always would, defying any events that transpired from this point on forth. Including future loves, emotions, accomplishments…

The real question was, was whether or not Sasuke was willing to accept that.

A question he wasn't able quite able to answer yet.

Only time would tell.

"Seriously, though." Naruto smiled, covering the hand Sasuke comforted on his cheek. "I didn't mind. It was," Naruto paused, thick with thought, "innocent. Mm, need I say satisfying?"

A wandering index finger led Naruto to the venture to what lied beneath Sasuke's shirt. "And…" His nails raked down Sasuke's prized abdominals, feeling them tense. "I wouldn't mind another one." Naruto lips shifted into a deviously delightful smile. "Y'know, just for good measure. I'm not really into flukes if y'know what I mean."

Being the more responsible adult… Sasuke did as he was told.

…

Throwing away all chance of a normal recovery, Naruto forced Sasuke to leave after they shared a kiss identical to last night's. Even though there was much more to be said, he didn't embark on the much needed conversation, though Sasuke insisted. His smile was as fake as a three dollar bill as he stood in the door frame. He broke down as soon as he shut the door.

It was beautiful morning but it didn't matter to Naruto. He couldn't feel the sunrays and he couldn't see the sunshine. The only thing that surrounded him was the pit of impenetrable darkness that pelted his prickling skin. He was so numb that he could barely feeling his body draw in the air around him, letting him know that he survived such a thing.

It was a spectacular Sunday morning… for a drink of Bailey's. He knew that Sasuke didn't like him drinking especially on emotional occasions but Sasuke wasn't here. And what he knew wouldn't hurt him.

He needed this. There was no way he could recover on his own,

The blond spent the remainder of the day revolving around the sequence of events until his head hurt and his heart ached. He was strongly tempted to call that cheating asshole and reconcile. But his pride wouldn't allow that. In place of the hurt, he inhaled every drop of alcohol his body would absorb.

_I won't miss you. I won't miss you. I won't miss you. I fucking miss you right __**now**__,_ Naruto thought, staring at the box engraved with their initials at his knees.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, as he gulped more of his Bailey's. "I know exactly what to do with you, _baby_."

Flipping open the box, he stared at the enclosed pictures, coming in contact with the first one of them kissing at his 19th birthday party. He bitterly smiled, relocating the wooden craftsmanship to his Teflon bathtub, with the required accessories—his bottle, cigarettes, and a lighter. Kneeling on the side of the tub, he hummed as he scattered the pictures and generously disturbed the Bailey's across them.

Drunk, but efficiently holding his liquor, Naruto flicked his lighter on, connecting the flame to cinders of his pathetic life. Listlessly tossing the lighter into the tub with a flick of his wrist, he felt a strong flood of justification unleash as the blistering blues, reds, and yellows engulfed the physical proof of their romantic memories.

As ebony ashes, smoked the tub, fire lit the unique but burdened box.

A whirlpool of emotions separated from his body as he coldly used the flames to light his cig.

Smoke polluted the air, but Naruto didn't care. He just added smoke to the small bonfire below.

Rolling the comforting stick between his index and middle finger, he somberly whispered, "Guess this is goodbye—babe."

…

The blare of the blinding sun and the rich odor of the dead autumn leaves infiltrating Naruto's congesting torment, the mist of his cruel hangover murdering his image, decimating his state of being. Ignoring the obvious, Naruto locked his car and entered the university campus instantly taking notice to the masses of new, blooming love. Blue eyes carefully examined a sophomore lending his wool scarf to a young female nestled into the warmth of his arm. A new breed of kindness accumulated as a handsome boy passed a heated beverage to a smaller, delicate female that somehow resembled his best friend. She smiled and profusely thanked him once verbally then again with a kiss on the cheek, then his lips.

Pasting his many pieces of his shattered existence in a tattered, unorganized mess, he strode through the medieval reminiscent chamber doors, scurrying to his 8:30 a.m. Communications class.

He thought it would be different. It wasn't. The feeling circulated around him was the same as it was in high school. Once again, he was the loser nobody wanted. The person that was snickered at in the hallways, tripped in gym, pranked in ceramics. A 'somebody' that everyone called 'the nobody.'

He thought he'd moved past this stage of loneliness but he was wrong. Truth is, he'd never left.

After he'd met Gaara, it was like they automatically had this odd understanding—like they clicked. Gaara invited him to numerous functions, courting him harder and harder each time. After a matter of months, Naruto caved and agreed to date him, no promises. Even though he labeled this 'something' a pastime, he found himself falling harder than a skydiver. Their deep late night conversations swelled his heart and his mind-blowing compliments expanded his ego, and time the spent with one another made him feel important.

He was on cloud nine, no doubt.

So high above the horizon, he fell to the concrete with a splat.

If he had known, Gaara would have been sitting on the curb long ago.

Who was he kidding? He was a joke. His first serious relationship and he was cheated on. What kind of accomplishment was that? _None at all_.

Gaara claimed to love him but it was all a lie—actually a sick joke.

Why—how could you do this to someone who you cared about? You couldn't.

This must have been bigger than him. This must have been about proving to Neji that he had 'moved on without him.'

He was a trophy, a display of perseverance and romantic resilience, not a symbol of love or friendship.

Gaara had almost changed his opinion about himself but he knew he would always be right. He _was_ nothing. To anybody. No one would truly love him.

They only wanted to use and abuse him but never give him the amount of affection he craved.

He wasn't as lucky as some people, such as Sakura. She could have anyone she wanted with hardly any effort. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes twice, beckon them with a finger, and they were literally her love slave. He wasn't surprised if she played the same trick on Sasuke. He already seemed sprung on her relationship magic, which wasn't baffling considering she waited on him hand and foot, treating him like an aristocratic king.

He could tell when females were falling for their man. Sakura displayed every symptom.

He wanted to run into her arms, cry and never stop but he couldn't. She was finally happy with her life and he didn't want to selfishly impart his depressing relationship drama on her. He could deal with the fallout on his own. He had a million times before and this time wouldn't be any different.

Class was dismissed and he didn't hear a word of what the teacher assigned the class for the week. Guessed that's what he deserved for focusing on his relationship instead of his school work.

He'd just have to try to compensate in the succeeding class. Walking in the hallway near the education department, waiting for his friend Kiba to arrive, he unfortunately was greeted by wild green eyes. Heart stopping, he sighed at the coincidence that Gaara would be nearby so soon. As he expected, the man dashed to his side, instantly trying to rehash the unsaid words he had spent the entire weekend formulating in his head.

"Naruto, we need to talk." Shortly after the somber statement, he acknowledged he caused the dark circles surrounding his eyes and the heartbreak pouring over his slumped posture. Not neglecting fault, he wanted to accept any opportunity he could to mend the rift he created. This was his chance and he was intent on taking it.

"Seriously," Gaara added after Naruto disregarded his statement, only blankly staring at him.

Flat against the cemented wall, Naruto's regularly merry river cerulean eyes, squared with detestation. Skin washing a radish red and ligaments shivering with a painstaking level of betrayal, Naruto glanced into the whirlpool of evil long enough to stress his point. "We have nothing to talk about… We've over, done, finished, finito. Get it? Or do you need me to put it in fucking writing?"

Gaara rapidly became surprised by the grid lock of progress. Was Naruto really willing to throw away everything just because of a mistake? They had been together for so long, been through so much. Regardless, Naruto didn't seem to give a fuck.

"Neji means nothing to me—I swear." Gaara promised with the familiar glint of unquestionable truthfulness that Naruto almost trusted. If he didn't know that he frequently lied through his teeth, he _might_ have believed him.

Naruto smiled. "That was good! You were _almost_ believable that time. Keep it up, maybe the next person will be fooled." Naruto shook his head. "But I won't."

Though Naruto was tempted to hug Gaara, kiss him and tell him that everything would be okay, he knew it wouldn't be real. He would only be hurting himself by pretending he would happy with someone who wasn't satisfied with _just_ **him**.

Spotting Kiba hustle through the lackadaisical college attendees, Naruto knew it was time say goodbye. But Gaara had other plans in store.

"Naruto, I know we can get past this."

"Gaara, what part of 'I don't fucking want you,' do you not comprehend? How about this? I want you to get the fuck out of my face!" Naruto hollered among the student's loud hallway twittering. Even with regard to the volume, no one seemed to mind, considering one, it was Naruto and two, the students enrolled constantly here entertained disagreements. "Is that clear enough, or should I repeat myself?" When Naruto condescendingly cocked his head, Gaara glared with repugnance.

Kiba arrived staring at the hostile standoff between the former lovers. As he curbed his curiosity, he resisted asking why the irked redhead only snorted and continued on his path without rebuttal.

The short blond stuck his fingers into his blond bushel of hair, sullenly peeking at Kiba. The dark haired boy nearly choked at Naruto's gruff appearance. Finding the final straw, Kiba asked, "What the hell is going on?"

…

Kiba first came into contact with Naruto in their Honors English course somewhat on a technicality. He accidentally mispronounced his last name when speaking to him, nearly spurring a fight in the lecture hall. They were unexpectedly separated, not negatively punished but "coincidently" placed as partners for the project. The moaned, whined, and complained but the English professor didn't give a rat's ass. If they decided not to cooperate on the assignment, their grades would be docked by at least a letter grade. Neither of them were willing to bear the consequences on their grade, so they agreed to evenly divide the work and provide their portion of creativity for the visual aid.

Spending an entire week together, they formulated a strange bond. Naruto was smart, with a twist dry humor, and a splash of serious articulacy. Kiba was surprised to say the least. He didn't expect Naruto to be so likeable, in respect to his coarse exterior.

He was the person everyone should know. Shamefully, he hid his colorful personality from the eyes of the world for some undisclosed reason. Whatever it was, it was a poor excuse to Kiba.

When the deadline snuck up on them, they were prepared. They fearlessly presented the Religious and Practical Theories of the Enlightenment, impressing the student body and drenching the teacher with new knowledge. Inevitably, they received the A plus they were striving for.

It was an unexpected way to meet but a meeting nonetheless. Something Kiba would never retract in a million years. Naruto was his right lung, and he was Naruto's left.

Freshman and sophomore year they were best friends until Naruto met Gaara. He had a bad feeling about the guy from the start but Naruto seemed to really like him. However he was right after Naruto _became_ his troubles. He occasionally drank with minor drug use but after he became involved that parasite, he adopted a negative reputation for his drug use, even explicit rumors of sexual promiscuity. It made his stomach twist to hear such stories about his friend. With Naruto's acceptance fading, he attempted to predict the exclusive fluctuation of carriage, but it never came. Aside from the reduction on his dependency, he was relatively normal during his gravitation towards Gaara.

Merely a ghost of the Naruto he once knew, he slowly was demoted to an acquaintance, making Gaara top priority. Once in happily romantic relationship, he assumed Naruto was falling from grace like he warned him he would.

Isolated in the healthy green field, without a third soul in company, Kiba was sorely irritated that Naruto refused to share his story of sadness instead decided to stifle his middle with his thin, wirey arms.

Feeling a strong muscle tick attack his eyebrow, his snapped as his patience's expiration date was reached. "Since when did I become your stupid cuddle bear?" Kiba asked, looking at the male coiled around his waist. Naruto agitatedly glanced up from his fixed position against Kiba's ribs.

"I have no idea when you became stupid," Naruto grumbled, "Only **God** knows _that_."

Kiba punched Naruto on the top of his head, a small sound of surrender coming about. "Fucking brat!"

"Leave me alone! I'm not bothering you!" Naruto yelled.

"Right, you're only choking out the only available oxygen in my body! Not a problem—at all!"

"Deal with it! It's what I pay you for!" Naruto explained.

Kiba scowled. "You don't pay me!"

"Yes, I do—in happiness. A unit that _can't _be measured." Naruto nodded in affirmation.

"You corny little—!" Kiba violently said, firmly stationing his hands around Naruto's neck.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone now!"

…

With limited solution to his heartbreak, he turned on The Notebook and huddled with his sofa pillow in the living room. He raced home in record time like it was competition. He physically attended both his classes and also eluded telling Kiba the embarrassing news about him and his shit faced ex. He just wanted to be alone, hide his phone, and emotionally self-destruct by himself.

With the lamps dimmed, cellphone tucked away in the couch cushion, he instantly shrunk, eyes focused on the mushy love occurring on his flat screen.

He wished he could have something like that again, but real.

Sighing, he jumped at the disturbing knock at the door.

"The fuck…" Naruto muttered, angrily throwing the pillow across the room.

With reduced visibility, Naruto tripped in the foyer over his new sneakers. Cursing fluently, he jerked the door open, planning to attribute his near death experience to individual on the other side of that door.

"What do you wa—" Naruto was interrupted a handsome face that often clouded his dreams and frequently plagued his sweet fantasies. His thoughts ceased and his joints suspended in lieu of the body pinned at his door. Anxious with a splint of sadness, Naruto traced those magnificent grey eyes with his shadowy denim blue spheres. A swift motion of a kiss to the forehead intercepted any form of greeting. Melting at the warmheartedness, Naruto's throat clogged with sorrow.

He kept kissing him like he was his special someone but he wasn't. So why did he keep doing that?

Soft finger pads contacted his cheeks as Sasuke asked the question, "Are you okay?"

Sasuke pulled away his lips and inspected his cute friend's expression, concerned.

Naruto nodded, disregarding that his face told a different story.

Sasuke figured he would deceive him about his mental condition, so he offered a hefty brown paper bag.

Naruto accepted it, mouth gaping. "What's this?"

"Break-up kit. Chocolate, ramen, Cheetos, hot Cheetos, starburst, sour skittles, and plenty of ice cream," Sasuke said with a supportive smile.

He felt his eyes water and his face flush with sadness.

"At work today, I was thinking you would need it."

He was relatively speechless. Sasuke was thinking about him today. Was he that important to him that he went to the trouble of buying him comfort food?

Naruto eyes shared the indebted sentiment, welling with infallible trust. As he sadly smiled, he permitted his fingers to powerfully grasp the brown paper. "Thank you _so_ much."

"No problem," Sasuke said, as they united on the sofa cushions.

Placing the bag down, he crawled into Sasuke's lap like an abandoned child. He smiled when Sasuke instinctively held him, like it was his sworn duty from birth. Putting his head delicately on Sasuke's shoulder, he sighed. Finally, his apartment was home.

"You break up with him?"

"Yeah… He was a fucking dick about it. _Naruto I love you. I can explain_… Absolute bullshit." Naruto mocked, snorting at the memory.

Enjoying the experience of Naruto's weight encompassing him, he tucked his head in the junction between Naruto's neck and shoulder, breathing in his distinct scent. "I can only imagine," Sasuke ironically pictured Gaara begging and pleading, sounding just like the slimy underbelly he was. Naruto probably refused him then punched the shit out of him. Yeah, that's how it _must _have happened.

"Yeah, I can't say I didn't dodge a fucking bullet there."

Naruto closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, sinking into the accepting male.

"I can't say you're wrong," Sasuke agreed.

"Mhm." A fluent silence engulfed the room in full force sending the two men into the case of thoughtful gauges.

"Did you know that you know more about me than anyone else does?" Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke rubbed circles on Naruto's back. "Yeah?" The movie played quietly in the background filling in the quiet space.

"_Unbelievable, Unbelievable," Noah said, pulseless. _

"Yeah," Naruto muttered.

"Why do I know so much about you?"

"Because… There's something about you… that… I can't explain." Naruto sighed, frustrated. "I just feel like I can tell you anything…Is that weird?"

"No," Sasuke said quietly. "There are just some people in this world that you're bound to have a special connection with."

"So in a weird way, we're like…soulmates?" Naruto hesitantly asked Sasuke, fearing the man's reaction.

"I think so," Sasuke inherently said with a bloat of merriment.

Naruto chuckled in return. "It's not a bad thing. People almost never end up their soulmate anyway."

Sasuke mutedly felt his heart survive a negative tingle at the comment. Because it was true. This concept lied in music tracks, movie plots, and book story lines, often conditioning every generation of society to think that heartache was a normal part of "growing up." Your first love usually didn't mean that it was your last love. It had Sasuke thinking, did Naruto lose hope in love after Gaara?

"What's Neji to you?" Naruto sat up, disassociating himself with Sasuke, justifiably curious. "How did you even know about Gaara and the whole cheating thing anyhow? Did he tell you?" Naruto torridly asked, the suspicions raising his temperature. "Did you date him too?"

"Hold your fucking horses," Sasuke lifted his hand. "I've never dated him. For the record, I've never dated any guy. He's just a friend that was opening up to me about his problems. Gaara happened to be included in his problems."

Naruto calmed down, whispering. "He told you about me?"

"Just that you were with Gaara," Sasuke said omitting the 'slut' opinion.

"Did he casually mention that he was sleeping with Gaara?"

"No, it wasn't casual. It was troubling him because he was once with Gaara too."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Boo-**fucking**-_hoo_, let's all cry for the fucking slut. If he was so broken over him, then he shouldn't have been sleeping with him."

"C'mon, no need to be so bitter." The Uchiha kissed Naruto on the cheek dearly, reckoning the irony that Naruto and Neji thought either was a slut. Although it was rather juvenile, he didn't bother taking sides or reprimanding them. He didn't know enough about their sexual history to pass judgment on their accused promiscuity. They were his friends; he didn't really want to think about their pliability.

"No," Naruto stingily said, pouting haughtily.

"You can never get over him if you harbor all this hate for them."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, loosening some.

"Tell you what," Sasuke touched Naruto's soft waist—fingers comfortable, traveling to the small of his back. "Want revenge?"

"Who wouldn't?" Naruto said softly.

Sasuke smirked. "Then move on and live your life to the fullest. Show him that you're still surviving without him."

Naruto remembered the melting ice cream but didn't care. He hugged Sasuke, happily smiling when Sasuke returned the gesture. The Uchiha tightened the embrace, remaining there for an indefinite amount of time.

…

"Come in!" Naruto called from the kitchen's midpoint, disgorging the glass of rum and quickly putting it on the counter, cursing that he didn't have time to rinse it out. Assuring himself that it was stark empty, Naruto flew into Sasuke, quickly saying hello then tunneling into his sofa.

"Hey, what's up?" Sasuke asked, noting that Naruto jerkily picked up his cellphone and started surfing.

Raising a brow, Sasuke bypassed him and went straight into the kitchen. He was starving. His boss didn't permit eating during the first shift today, he hadn't eaten all day. The team he worked with was given a personal break but it usually consisted of data input completion and cramped law meetings. He barely even got to blink, let alone ingest a drop of water in the past eight hours. Fantasizing about the sight of food, but much too lazy to stop for a quick meal, he just raced here, intending on purging Naruto's abundant leftovers.

He twisted to the dish rack for a clean glass when he regarded the stray Brandy shifter glass with a strange glance. Assuming it was recently used because of the liquid garnishing the freshly wet inner ridges, he lifted the glass, sniffing the strong scent barreling around. Relatively repulsed, he put it back down, checking to see if Naruto was still messing around on his phone. He confirmed it before opening the cupboard to a staggering sight of various arrangements of…alcohol.

Sasuke shivered with rampant furor—glaring at the back at the garden of unsuspecting daisies idling on the couch.

The verification dawned on him with dark fluidity: Naruto wasn't a strong, occasional drinker, he was an alcoholic.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?" He answered, clearly distracted.

"Where do you keep the garbage bags?"

Naruto scrunched his face, perplexed. "Under the sink?"

In matter of seconds, he heard bag flapping then an earthshattering crash that resembled the sound of glass.

Naruto spun to the disturbance, nearly flipping over the couch. "What the hell are you doing!?"

A similar crash occurred, offsetting Sasuke's response, "Throwing out garbage."

Headlining the area, Naruto viewed from the sidelines the horror of Sasuke tossing out all his bottles.

"Those aren't yours to throw away, you fucking dick! Stop touching my shit!" Naruto hollered, his harshness insinuating he could paralyze an entire country with a lethal poison. He was so riled, he felt blood pump behind his eye sockets and his hands clam with hot sweat. Who the hell did Sasuke think he was touching his things, much less disposing of them?

The cold hardened expression molded on Sasuke's face tempted a forthcoming violent urge from the smaller man. He wanted to pounce, destroy, tear, hurt, decimate… Make Sasuke feel like exactly how he felt.

Violated.

"Fucking make me," Sasuke snarled, reaching for the neck of another offending bottle. "I don't why the _**fuck**_ you would think it would be okay to just drink your goddamn life away when you're so young—"

"Because I'm LONELY and that's what LONELY _people_ do, Sasuke! They **drink**!" His swollen red lips flittered scrupulously as he blinked back a barrage of tears. Feeling an epitome emerge to the surface of his skin, he still struggled to bare the fruits of the inner mayhem, struggling to breathe. He didn't want to say any of these things but at this rate, he didn't really know how to stop himself.

Sasuke's eyes widened to the size of the moon, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"I've always b-been alone. You don't know what it's like!" Naruto sobbed. "My life isn't as great as yours…"

Naruto covered his face. "Not even a junkie like Gaara wanted _me_—"

Sasuke dropped everything and sped to Naruto's side, propelling his arms around the crumbling man.

He was aware his upbringing was rather exceptional. During his younger years, he got love from his mother and father while they continually providing his needs abundantly. In elementary school, he was considered a genius, finishing all his work and with all exemplary marks. Middle school hadn't been any different and it was no secret his high school years were uneventfully idyllic. He was socially accepted, leaving the chance of drama to a minimum. His high marks banished the difficulty of getting into a prestigiously recognized university. After he was enrolled, again, his life was uneventfully idyllic. College life was a breeze academically. He impressed his professors and landed at the top 10% of his class as expected. Socially, again, he climbed to the top of the latter, attracting all walks of life. At the time, he dated a few women but unsuccessfully found anyone that really stuck… He too had suffered disappoints and mutual disagreements to the field of love but never to the extent that Naruto had. To the distraught beauty, it seemed like his life was painted in gold in comparison, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Contrary to Naruto's train of thought, his life wasn't layered in roses.

"Get _off _me—" Naruto growled; refusing the kind gesture. Unfortunately Sasuke wasn't surrendering so easily. He tightly cramped Naruto's shoulders together and buried the blond's nose into his chest. He could feel his heart wrestling in his chest as Naruto trembled, his tears labeling his recondite sadness. His self-confidence was demolished and it needed urgent replenishing. He wanted to help him, heal him and rehabilitate him into the beautiful star he knew he could be. He needed so much more than Sakura did.

"Naruto, you're not alone… You have Sakura," Sasuke compassionately whispered, "And you know, you _have_ me."

Naruto seemed to quell as he clutched the back of Sasuke's black leather jacket, his tears hastening down his face like Niagara Falls. "P-promise?"

"Promise," Sasuke muttered into his hair, his arms crippling immobilized joints, trapping him a tight pocket of his effervescent warmth.

Naruto leaned in further, wanting Sasuke to never let go as long as they lived. Because if he didn't, he would fall apart. And this, seemed to be last thing holding him together.

Slowly, Sasuke pulled him out to examine him. With his thumbs, he dabbed the tears from the beautifully red cheeks as his eyes plugged into the insecure beryl eyes.

Sasuke knew it was a sensitive subject, but he wanted to explore the well-seasoned pain Naruto was experiencing. Did Naruto have bad parents? Other failed relationships? A difficult time in high school? He wanted to know. He _had _to know. Now. "Do want to discu—"

"No." Naruto feebly smiled, catching a whiff of Sasuke's unyielding curiosity. He grabbed his middle and forefinger affectionately. "Just stay. Here. With me."

…

In the span of four days, Sasuke and Naruto found their natural rhythm again. Normal. They connected through porn once again, pretending that this was normal.

"Yeah babe, right there. Right there!" The woman passionately screamed as the man heartily thrust into her, grunting all the while. Her eyes connected with his as he jerkily slammed into her.

"You gonna cum baby?" She asked, using her toned legs to pull him further into her ofrice.

"Yeah, I'm gonna fuckin' cum in that pussy," He groaned, grasping her hips with a death grip.

"Yeah, you gonna cum in this tight pussy? She asked, flat on her back surgically enhanced breasts jiggling, fingernails raking his chest.

"Fuck yeah!" Suddenly after the concurrent statement, he frothed against her, a feral growl indicating the arrival of his painfully strong climax.

"Yeah, baby. Gimme that sweet juice…" She moaned and just as commanded, the co-star's essence leaked out as he continually pumped in and out, milking the orgasm for all it was worth.

"Oh G-god, I'm still c-cumming!"

Sasuke uneasily peeked at the complacently placed caramel calves straddling his thighs, fascinated by how unfazed Naruto was by the lewdness. He was over here literally, breaking into a sweat while the blond was here head propped on the chair's arm, watching it like it was Sesame Street's newest episode. He assumed he was used to hard core porn but he could be wrong. Naruto could just be accustomed to sex in general.

"Push it out," The man crooned as he touched her hard clitoris.

She did just that, to the pleasure of the adult actor and the cameraman.

"Yeah, that's a lotta cum, baby."

Sasuke closely inspected the ribbon blue eyes, focusing on his salmon colored lips, and the tight little body to match.

He readily molded over relieving his tortuously hard erection inside of Naruto's willing body—depositing all he had to offer, which was probably more than that actor held in his reservoirs.

Not comprehending what his body was doing, he climbed on top of Naruto, hands venturing to the waist line of his jeans, tugging suggestively.

Calm, Naruto shifted to accommodate the new position, a twinkle of hope sparking in his dilated pupils. Slowly he ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair, breathing out a slight moan. "_What are you gonna do to me?_"

The horizontal radiance fleshing out the dim room, boosted Sasuke and Naruto's sex drive at a perilous rate. Cunningly, Naruto's palm roamed over Sasuke's belt loop, subsequently gripping his inflated crotch encouraging him to make the first move like a gentleman should.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared into the wickedly seductive features, mentally drafting the imminent betrayal that was going to occur in Naruto's quiet little apartment if he didn't leave, _immediately_. With a dash of bravery, he flew into his sneakers, practically twisted off the doorknob prior to sprinting to his car.

"Wow, how to lose a guy in 10 seconds featuring Naruto Uzumaki!" He sighed, however he wasn't offended. He knew that Sasuke wasn't going to go through with it. He was dating his best friend. There was no way he would prefer his body to Sakura's. Sadly, Naruto thought he was just an awfully curious fellow looking for a bone.

A big, juicy one.

…

"Baby!" Sakura yelped like a madman as she threw her arms around Naruto's neck. She quickly stepped back, holding Naruto out to look at him. Her grizzly change expression instilled fear in Naruto. "If you ever returned any of fucking text message indicating to me that your ass was home, I would have brought you goddamn present! Idiot!"

She clobbered Naruto in the forehead. Crying out in pain, Naruto shielded his skull from further attacks.

Her hips supported her warring knuckles on her hips. "It's in my room and when I good and ready we will go and retrieve it."

Naruto hovered in the doorway of the kitchen, pouting. Why did she always feel the right to needlessly abuse him?

The reason he never answered any of his text messages that night was because… he was in Sasuke's arms that night.

Squirming beneath the pressure of his lies, his eye contact deviated from her sturdy jade eyes. "Um, sure."

She sighed, knowing that she couldn't be mad at Naruto for long. "Did you at least enjoy your birthday, my love?" Her green treasures softened, as she captured Naruto's cheek.

The question was an injection of morphine. "Yeah... One of the best I've ever had," He shakily lied, a smile rattling his wounded spirit. He never really told Sakura about Gaara. He was positive she would hate him and advocate for his removal from his life, effective immediately. Even though he loved Sakura unconditionally, he didn't want anyone selecting who he did and didn't date.

"Really?" She smiled.

"Yes," Naruto assured, with a—fake—wide grin.

"That's excellent. Did Sasuke at least tell you happy birthday?"

"Yeah… Um, he did."

Sakura laughed. "Wow, you must talk to him more than I do."

Naruto nervously smiled. "Heh… Why do you say that?"

"Because. He just seems closer to you than he does to me, sometimes."

Feeling a bitter flavoring march into his mouth, Naruto willed himself to dismiss the insecure assumption.

"I don't mean anything by it. It's just an observation."

So she said, but he knew beneath her spikey scales there was a jealousy burning hotter than the flames of hell.

"I don't think it's a legitimate observation but okay…" Naruto raised an eyebrow, knowing damn well that she was telling the truth. He and Sasuke were unnaturally close. For God sakes they had kissed… on the lips, then later in the week, they were awfully close to having sex. Even though Sasuke was with Sakura, they still felt this impulse this carryon this illicit affair. Naturally they knew cheating was wrong, but somehow he didn't feel wrong until they were confronted with Sakura.

Like now.

…

Balled in his shaggy blanket, Naruto frowned severely troubled. He was actively considering toning down the relationship he shared with Sasuke but he was deathly confused. So many boundaries were shattered that he didn't what was acceptable and what wasn't. He could restrict the limitations. Friendship was tolerable, which meant strictly hugging—sometimes—spending time together, and sharing feelings. But no kissing, undressing, touching, and no sleeping together at night.

It was going to be hard. The two kisses Sasuke had dealt him were dressed in emotion and breathing with life. He wanted more. He had to have more…

_My milkshake brings all the boys into to the yard and they're like—_

Naruto bounced with the felicity at his counselors' phone call. Finally, he would find out about his early graduation prospects. His happiness depended on ability to graduate from this hell hole before all of his judgmental peers. If he got the chance, he would leave without a second look back. As he gathered his things, he ran to his car to find out if his dream would come true.

…

How the hell did things turn out like this?

He was expecting good news but as usual he was disappointed.

The irreplaceable shambles were beginning to slice his fingers.

Sobbing with soft gasps for air, he fumbled for his cellphone, looking for someone to call—anyone but at the same time not just anyone.

Someone who knew nearly everything about him.

The one person he could actually rely on.

…

Sasuke was texting Sakura about something irrelevant to life. He surprised about lively she was today. Usually she was a one word commenter.

This weekend, her hours had been reduced by half because of café's employee orientation and training. He sent the next text with a small smirk, accepting he was admittedly engaged. Suddenly, an unforeseen notification rocked his phone, as the vibration struck his hand. Though off guard, he quickly answered the phone call and slapped the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

A strangled choke tore through the phone and Sasuke sat up, alarmed. "S-sas-keee."

"Naruto, where are you?"

"I-I'm at h-home."

"What happened? Why are you crying?"

"I w-went to g-go see my c-counselor and w-we were talking a-bout me graduating early and then…" Naruto appeared to get more panicked by talking about the situation. "She said she didn't know if that would be possible a-anym-more."

"What?" Sasuke's face constricted with anger. "Why not?"

"S-she said t-that the requirements for my major changed a-and she doesn't k-know if I meet the credit—r-re-quirements…"

Sasuke's ears prickled at the sobs. "_Naruto_," He muttered sincerely.

"P-please d-don't tell S-Sakura—I d-don't want her t-to worry."

Sasuke quizzically said nothing. "I won't tell her."

"T-thanks." Sasuke imagined his red cheeks, unhappy blues squinting with burning tears. The image cauterized his scorn for Naruto's depressive state. He was better when he was happy—smiling, playful.

"I'm coming over."

"N-no, I-I'll be fine. I j-just needed to t-talk to someone about it," Naruto tried to weakly convince, knowing that he couldn't have Sasuke seeing him in such an embarrassing state.

From this point forward, he just wanted to die quietly—alone.

Preferably without Sasuke at the forefront.

…

After a rowdy debate within himself, Sasuke decided to make an appearance at Naruto's apartment. Whether the little twerp wanted to admit it or not, he needed him.

Upon entering the apartment, Sasuke was smacked with a startling hatful.

Sasuke sighed. _'Woe is me.'_

…

"I s-swear, m'fine. Why are you being such a tight ass?" Naruto exploded with laughter, stifling it with the heel of his hand.

Sasuke frowned at the intoxicated blond waggling about uselessly in the furniture. "It's not like I'm cutting myself or anything." Naruto held up wrists. "Seeeeeeee! Good, right?"

The older man glared at the childish figure, figuratively bashing in his head for not remembering that _all_ alcoholics kept secret stashes.

He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Naruto, give me the bottle."

Naruto giggled again. "Why would do that? M'm not stupid, Suss." He toggled the drink into his lap, pouting at Sasuke.

"Sometimes, I wonder." Sasuke massaged his temples trying to break the headache rumbling in his nerves. He impulsively snatched the seaweed green bottle of Hennessey, securing it in his possession. He recapped it and held near to him, out of Naruto's reach.

"Susss, noooooo. Give it back… It's mine," Naruto whined, hovering over Sasuke's knees, a sorrowful frown coloring his beauty.

"No," Sasuke said, not budging.

Processing Sasuke's mean stare on the stance on his drinks, he intended to haggle. "What do I hafta do tah get it back?" He lazily slurred, nibbling his lip afterward. Climbing into Sasuke's lap, easing his hands onto Sasuke's tense shoulders, he made himself comfortable in the rather intimate position. Sasuke's eyes widened as he prepared to remove him from his person before temptation truly attacked his soul. Naruto sensed his opposition and quickly protested, grabbing Sasuke's forearms, holding him in place.

"Why do you keep fighting it, Susss?" He patiently asked.

Sasuke swallowed, feeling like he was sinking into Naruto's sinfully seductive smirk. "I already know how bad you want it," He foxily whispered, touching the outline of Sasuke's lips with the tips of his fingers.

Slowly exhaling, the dangerous blond reached with in breathing distance and smiled. "Why don't you just give in and… fuck me already?"

Even after the clear invitation, Sasuke still exuded a fair amount of indecisiveness. Naruto didn't have time for him to make up his mind so he made it for him. He wildly kissed him, assaulting him like hungry wolf. He plunged his tongue into Sasuke's mouth, probing the access he readily fantasized about gaining. He squished Sasuke's cheeks together, using his strength to make a statement. If Sasuke didn't take advantage of him right now, than wither he was stupid, or he was doing something wrong.

If he wasn't mistaken, he felt an arousal growing beneath the back of his thighs. He was happy with the reaction. At least, he knew now if Sasuke denied the opportunity it would be because of morals and boundaries, not because he didn't want to pound him into the mattress.

Until Sasuke made picked which side wanted to dabble on, Naruto would do everything in his power to convince him otherwise. Slightly grinding his hips into the older man's lap, he moaned, pressing his chest into the other man's. He lightly drug his fingers on the side of Sasuke's jaw, leaving tingling trails of warmth.

He felt his own cock raise at the ministrations. He wasn't ashamed. After all that had occurred lately with Gaara and his credit discrepancies, he just wanted a distraction. He had thought about going out and finding a nameless, person that he could use to make himself feel grounded again. However, as he sat with his bottle of Henny, he realized that that would do much more harm than good. This one night stand wouldn't care about him at all. By comparison, Sasuke would be a much more logical choice. He was always there for him when he needed it, giving him advice and comforting him. This would just be another time. Right? A simple one night stand If Sasuke was willing to be the one to temporarily shield him from all the pain he had been experiencing recently, then he would be eternally grateful.

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Here he was ensnared in a kiss that was much more intense and erotic than their first one, picking between joining in or pulling back. Making the choice for him, he assaulted him like a wild wolf, hungrily kissing the Uchiha, plowing his tongue into Sasuke's mouth, probing for the access he fantasized about gaining.

Sasuke commanded control of the aggressive blond, delving into the plunder of that sweet, soft mouth. Enjoying the change of heart, Naruto hooked his arms around Sasuke's neck as he raked his fingers against Naruto's sleek abdominal structure. Growling at the break Naruto took for air, he frantically grabbed Naruto's wrists. There was no way he was changing his mind—things had gotten far too deep.

Kiss bitten lips swelled a blushing red while molding the words, "_Bedroom_."

Following orders, Sasuke hoisted Naruto up by his ass, fastening Naruto's limp legs around his waist for security. The position didn't prevent them from animalistically kissing one another, biting lips, tongues joggling, saliva trading. They fumbled and tripped, making the process even more difficult.

When they eventually obtained their goal, coming in full range of the bed, Sasuke roughly dunked Naruto on the bed like a sack of potatoes. The small man only giggled in response, loving the man handling occurring.

Although Naruto's enthusiasm livened, Sasuke still stood at the footboard, staring at Naruto sensually stroke the sheets, his velvety lower back in full view. Was he really going to do this? Should he really do this? Yeah, he was rock hard but Naruto was half drunk. He hadn't imagined these circumstances in a million years, but these were the cards he was dealt.

Rehearsing the backlash from the mitigating factors in his head, his feet suddenly felt the urge to flee but he couldn't. Those amused indigo irises pinned him in place like a staple gun.

"There's no way we can play withhh you _allll _the way overrr there…" Naruto whispered sexily, "You haveeee to come closer, no?"

He leaned up, brushing stray hair from his face. "I don't bite." He shrugged carelessly, "Anymore…" Licking his lips, he clearly ate in the fine specimen ahead of him, a shiver of lust decorating his body.

In no time, Sasuke included himself on the bed, undressing the insistent little firecracker.

He stripped Naruto of his shirt, a reprehensible tear echoing as he threw it aside.

In the poorly lit room, Naruto's laugh was the only thing that was clear enough to be interpreted. Everything else would be left to the imagination, something he intended to use along with the combination of imagination along with another lovely organ, hopefully making for a glorious time.

Naruto pushed Sasuke down, running his hands down his titillating abs, undoing his _troublesome_ belt. Completing the task, he stroked the hard, begging muscle behind Sasuke's constricting garments. "Oooo, you're _so_ har_ddddd_. Is that because of lil' ol' me?"

Sasuke hissed at the indirect contact, bucking into the warm palm, trying to get Naruto to press harder into his arousal.

Naruto smiled at the eagerness—accepting the opportunity to unzip Sasuke's jeans with his _teeth_.

Blinking wildly at Naruto's skills, he stilled, his lungs becoming temporarily incapacitated at the motion. Suddenly, Sasuke snapped out it, knowing that he didn't really have time to be impressed. Naruto was currently unleashing his pulsing cock from its cage, hazing his mental capacity. He couldn't concentrate, let alone marvel at the ability. He felt a parcel of air ghosting over his member, anticipation piling on his labored breathing. His eyes tightly shut in reaction of the tongue flicking over the bulbous cock head. The blond slowly pumped him, while suckling at the head, moaning into each movement. He slobbered on his needy pole, slicking copiously with his tongue. Feeling like he had adequately reached his goal, he pulled, admiring his acute handiwork.

"This is all for me?" Naruto sensually asked as Sasuke's chest heaved like a marathon runner. "I'm sooo lucky." Sasuke couldn't process a thought, making it impossible to reply as Naruto swallowed the length, the head interacting closely with his tonsils. He melodically hummed, slurping and nuzzling the base of his twitching cock.

"Urgh, fuck!" Sasuke grinded out, hips unintentionally bucking, fisting the head of blond hair violently. He feared that he was dealing with a pro that was only displaying some of his skills… He felt a dart of completion nearly explode but he firmly resisted the urge.

Ignoring the splash of emotion, Naruto proceeded to suckle Sasuke's thick muscle ravenously. Suddenly, he scaled back sighing in awe, pumping Sasuke to his full potential. "Mmm, you have a _bbbbeautiful_ cock." He teased the underside of the member, his pink appendage granting special attention to the vein pulsating with need. "Can't wait to have it inside me," Naruto automatically gushed at the proposed sexual pleasure. "Mm, that should be wonderful."

Sasuke jerked at the ball of pressure condensing in his abdomen. Even though he felt the surge of pleasure about to burst, Naruto continued bobbing, cheeks hollowed, neck avid, eyes shut. Sasuke thrust himself upright, pulling Naruto up by the hair before the evitable occurred. "Enough—" Sasuke swapped places with the barely coherent blond, dominating him completely. "I don't want to melt in your mouth."

Naruto sloppily kissed Sasuke with a devious smile, hoping that Sasuke didn't mind that his mouth was just on his cock. "Anything you want sire."

Sasuke consciously tasted the beautiful creature instantly wanting more. He brutishly bit those pink petals, savoring the soft mewls fleeing from Naruto's throat. The sound of his enjoyments made him swirl with excitement. Naruto wanting more of him? It was a fate he could hardly handle.

He kissed Naruto deeply, his tongue skittering along the walls of Naruto's gums, sampling the mixture of alcohols leaping out of Naruto's saliva. He repeated the action three more times, knowing he couldn't practically get enough of the blond below him.

Naruto reciprocated—bracing the back of Sasuke's neck, blindly giving Sasuke as much as he wanted for as long as he wanted it. He judgment was clearly so impaired he obviously couldn't make sound decisions himself. He could barely defirient a coherent detail from the one that brain fogged brain had created in light of reality. He was so out of it, he wasn't even aware that Sasuke stripped him of his trousers. This was moving faster than expected, but he didn't try to stop it. This is what he wanted. Since about mid-September, he had been fantasizing about it during the day and dreaming about it in the night. Luckily, he didn't have to dream about it anymore. With the cuff of his jeans perusing off the cleft of his foot, he knew this _transaction_ was a done deal.

Sasuke swiftly unbuttoned his casual flannel, haphazardly discarding of the apparel like it was trash. He separated from Naruto in order to remove his joint pants and boxers—then quickly roped in the beautiful disaster once again, proving to him that until this night, he had never _truly_ been _kissed_ before. Consuming Naruto's lips like a ravenous beast, forcing his tongue into Naruto's tavern, slithering against the other muscle inducing a great amount of pleasure wherever the appendage skittered. Saliva seeped through the corner of the blond's mouth, and dribbled down his chin as gasped for a parcel of air.

Sasuke seized Naruto's waist, perusing the tan wealth of beauty while still

Sasuke's callous covered every hotspot on the map—nipples, lips, Naruto's hot, throbbing cock. Naruto responded positively to the treatment even though he was new at pleasuring another man. He just touched Naruto in the way he would like to be touched. Directly and sensually.

This masterpiece made him feel complete in so many ways. The idea that Naruto was offering himself on a whim made him feel fortunate. The alcohol was just making his actions more pronounced than they were when he was sober. With that fact known, he didn't feel that he was taking advantage of the blond. They both knew that this was something that they had both always wanted. It didn't make sense to deny themselves of this attraction anymore. It had been pestering them for the past couple of months and they could barely keep their hands to themselves anymore. The best option would be getting over it and done with so they could get it out of their systems.

So he decided to do just that. Slowly pumping Naruto's hard arousal in his fist, he did his best to make sure he was enjoying this as much as he was.

Naruto breathily moaned, clawing at Sasuke's innocent back. That didn't stop him from continuing to stroking. He felt the slick substance drip from Naruto's urethra. He bit his lips and arched into Sasuke as the pleasure layered thickly in his body. As a result, Sasuke smirked knowing that Naruto must have been so horny it hurt.

In the midst of the hot passion on the mattress, Sasuke flipped the lamp switch, instantly spotting the tube of lube beside it. He made a grab for it, preparing for the foreseeable.

When Naruto realized that Sasuke had reached for the lube, his cloudy mind veered to condoms. To Naruto's surprise, when he reached but as he reached for the side furniture, Sasuke quickly wrestled his hand away, kissing him by way of distraction. He didn't really know what Naruto was doing but He wanted nothing to delay what he wanted, not even a second longer.

Naruto forgot what he had been looking for in the first place and didn't reach for it again.

Sasuke lubed himself up, massaging the engorged organ carefully, hissing throughout the process. Misty, blue eyes passionately watched him masturbate, sexily nipping his lips. Nothing was hotter than someone touching themselves in front of you. To better elaborate, nothing was hotter than _Sasuke Uchiha_ touching himself in front of you. His firm balls dangling from his pelvis, slightly swaying because the pint of force he used on his thick, up-curved cock, channeled a new jolt through his liquidy joints. God, he so turned on, he thought that he was going to die from the sexual tension. Dick twitching, he couldn't deny that this in front of was too an art form.

Amply pumping, eyes leaving Naruto, Sasuke silently admitted to himself that he never desired so much in his entire life. Not a degree, not for money, and certainly not Sakura. He knew he wanted it—this one time. After this, he could never do this again. He would have to be satisfied with this one experience for the rest of his life, whether he liked it or not.

Accepting this, he spread Naruto legs apart and he willingly complied. He coated two fingers with lube admitting to himself that this was an experiment that he had the ability to ruin. He applied one digit to Naruto's tight hole, kneading the hot spot carefully trying to execute what little knowledge he had about preparing the male anatomy for intercourse. He studied Naruto's reaction which was more subtle than he expected. His hands were by his head, chest rapidly moving up and down, eyes closed. Sasuke guessed that he was trying to come to terms with the slight discomfort from his constant prodding. As he felt his confidence building, he gave himself the go ahead to press in deeper into Naruto, increasing the speed. He was going to check on Naruto's reaction but he didn't have to. The blond's loud undoubtedly moan reached his ears, in addition the toes on his left foot near his head visibly curling. He smirked, mentally patting himself on the back for his accuracy on what the heavenly little gland called the prostate. If Naruto could sound so pleasured, then he assumed the pain must have been subsiding. With that hit of information, Sasuke added another finger, expanding the motions into a slightly curved position, catering to the small gland once again. The smaller man instantly arched up into the ministrations, riding back on the fingers. His panted, breathing out erotically like one of the adult film actors they had watched. His cheeks were sprinkled with a delightful cranberry shade, plump lips agape, eyes closed tightly. 'So fucking beautiful,' Sasuke thought, curling the fingers up just to witness the pleasure ripple on Naruto's face. He mewled, fisting the silky sheets beside his head.

In the next heartbeat, Sasuke decided he had to fuck Naruto and he had to fuck Naruto, right now.

With that new bundle of information, he discontinued preparing Naruto, pulling the fingers away without a proper warning. Naruto whined, his hole winking for attention. Sasuke internally jumped with excitement. He didn't want Naruto to worry. He intended on filling him soon and with something much better—much bigger. He readied the sensitive male for what he ached for by his placing the head of his cock at Naruto's tight, pulsating entrance. He lifted his heavy eyes to Naruto's trusting, sparkling blue eyes—committing to them in a strange way.

Even though he was tempted to push himself in fully, he reframed from doing so. He investigated a little but more, pulling Naruto's puckered hole curiously. He couldn't help his apprehension. He was really going to do this, with Naruto. Now. He was drowned in his thoughts, not paying attention when he suddenly felt the familiar ring of muscle attempt to suck him like it had his innocent finger. Sasuke watched incensed with awe, breathing ceasing, hesitation present more than ever.

Naruto intuitively noticed the older man's uncertainty, understanding it but not condoning it. "C'mon, Sasuke, fuck me," He whispered, pressing back into the painfully hard muscle. "Don't be scared to fuck me…Until I don't know, math…" Naruto snorted, making the reference from Sasuke's comment from months ago come to light ironically. Kneeling here about do the unthinkable to the man he repeatedly claimed to hate, his mind was able to travel back to the statement that caused him violently overreact… Naruto truly was something else.

Be it strange, the poignant remark made Sasuke want to do this more than ever before. Without further coaching, Sasuke guided his cock into Naruto's impossibly hot, slick ofrice, taking what he thought was rightfully his.

As his air supply destabilized, heart thrashing, Sasuke didn't give Naruto time to adjust to the new intrusion. He selfishly pushed to the hilt, drowning in the mellifluousness of Naruto's wet hole, as he felt it compress around his cock.

He recognized that this was the most exhilarating sensation he'd ever felt in his life... And that this one occasion wouldn't be enough to satisfy his need for Naruto.

He already knew that he must have been clinically insane to not journey down this path sooner. He'd wanted it and Naruto'd wanted it, making it a logical decision. And this was the only way to alleviate the disguised tension they were both feeling. They were both stupid for trying to resist an urge that was so blaringly strong. They should have never let Sakura, or right or wrong or morals block them from what they truly wanted.

"Mmph," Naruto softly grunted, pushing Sasuke's chest, silently giving him a sign that his girth was stretching him too far, too quickly. But Sasuke was a sexual devil at this point, uncaring of Naruto's small wants. He conditioned himself to think that Naruto would eventually get used to his size as this session progressed. Resolute, he pushed the offending hand away and ignored Naruto's heavy breathing. He didn't move in fear that he wouldn't be able to handle the burst of pleasure that would surely follow. He carefully looked at Naruto, examining his concentrated features, wondering if he was troubled as he was.

He felt as if he would explode from another motion, a single touch. He knew he needed to get a hold of himself. He had to remember that he wasn't the only person that he had to be concerned about. He wanted to satisfy Naruto as well as himself. And he definitely couldn't do that if prematurely climaxed. He didn't

He'd never been so hard in his life but he knew he owed it Naruto to try much longer than a few seconds.

Glad that he finally came to that realization, he slowly pulled out to the tip and slowly pushed back into the deep heat, grunting at the intoxicating pleasure overpowering the nerve-wracking experience. "G-god, Naruto, you're sooo fucking tight…"

Naruto inwardly turned his knees against Sasuke's careful hips, shocked by how this was unbearably tense, hotly panting as Sasuke shallowly thrust once into him. "Fuck!" Naruto yelled, feeling the pleasure defeat the odd stretched feeling in his ass. Not by choice but by instinct, pulled Sasuke's bare ass closer, digging his nails into the skin, loving the sparks of heat jolting through his pelvis like a current of electricity. As Sasuke's pulsing dick sunk deeper into him. He weakly moaned, grinding his ass into Sasuke's hips, taking in as much of the man as he could. Shortly after, he prided on the quiet moan sounding from Sasuke's lips.

He thrusted again harder, perceiving that Naruto's burning gusto doubled his mounting desire. It definitely contagious he thought as he pushed into Naruto so deep, his hips were lifted clear off the bed. The unexpected movement excited the blond as moved his hands to Sasuke's hips, encouraging the break that ignited from Sasuke.

"Ah," he gasped as he came into his own, rolling his hips once onto the rigid cock. A wolfish Sasuke emerged, his energy generating into that of a feral, sexualized animal—snapping his hips forward twice, biting back the savage groans that threatened to escape. Naruto was less conservative about the matter, breathlessly moving in sync to Sasuke's calm but deliberate rhythm. He eagerly released Sasuke's hips as his fingers took a jaunt into Sasuke's inky hair, his juicy, moist lips grazing the shell of Sasuke's right ear, delicately. "You like that big boy?"

Sweat danced on the nape of Sasuke's neck, dampening his slick threads for hair as he developed an increased pace, fueled by Naruto's provocative words. Skin slapped together in a fury of passion, as Sasuke's nails dug into the base of Naruto's hips, leaving half mooned shaped scars as witness. The excited blond squealed at the beautiful concoction of pain and pleasure.

The bed sung a squeaky tune as Sasuke literally slammed into Naruto repeatedly, the desire mounting with every vicious thrust. Naruto was swept up in the addictive pleasure, as was his partner as their lips and teeth clashed like weather fronts. Sasuke plunged his tongue inside, swiping against Naruto's, hammering the compliant body. The responsive blond moaned, sweat tickling his blushing flesh as he compliantly thrust upward into Sasuke's cock—giving him as much as he was taking.

"You want this cock?" Sasuke seductively asked instructively as if asking something from the mentally unsound man. , eyes floating with hunger, tone vivid with lust.

"Y-yeah," Naruto whimpered with a loud gasp, knowing that was the only answer he could muster while he was swirled in dark pleasure.

"Tell me you want it. Fucking _beg_ for it," Sasuke growled—slowing his thrusts nearly to a complete halt.

"_I_ want that fucking cock!" Naruto snarled, webbing his hands around Sasuke's neck, his toes curling so tightly that the thought he might sprain the fine bones. Barely conceiving the euphoric feeling bursting inside him, he only felt his mouth helplessly burst with need. "Fuck me, h-harder. _Please_…"

Sasuke progressed with his previous pacing receiving adequate praise from Naruto as the beautiful man kissed him, biting at his lips with sweet tenderness. He drew in a bubble of air, savoring one more kiss before he finally pulled away. Fleetingly but deliberately Sasuke thought, _how Gaara could let Naruto go? Better yet, give him a reason to leave?_

Assclown must have been fucking retarded to let something this special take a walk. Then again, he didn't expect Gaara to realize what he had. People like him weren't accustom to perfection, nonetheless anything "good".

As his thoughts drifted The current object of his affection dug his head into the pillow and arched into the intense friction against his swollen prostate. Taking thorough note of that, Sasuke pounced at the opportunity to bite at his exposed neck. He sunk into the hot skin, sucking until he was certain the area was going to leave a mark from this event as the morning's memento. The area purpled like he wished—Naruto cried in pleasure, thereafter whispering, "Oh God…"

"I'm your God, now?" Sasuke asked, smirking against his neck—silently grooming his ego as he pushed in deeper than he had before.

Naruto dazedly smiled, slightly laughing at the pun.

"You my little porn star?" Sasuke asked, coaxingly licking the crook of Naruto's neck, teeth surging into his pulse.

"Mmm, yeah, I'm your little porn star…" Naruto moaned, shivering like an eskimo in Antarctica. Suddenly, as a specific thrust struck his prostate, Naruto felt himself falling off the precipice into a hot Nirvana. He impaled himself further sinking into deeper into the precious oblivion. His hot counterpart groaned at the enthusiasm, grabbing at the hips furiously. "here to do a-anything you want me to…"

Sasuke slammed into him hard.

"Mmm, fuck Sasuke! I'm gonna cum!" He shrieked exerting his lungs. Sasuke believed the claim when he felt Naruto's ass clench like a powerful vice. He shuddered, his head falling back into the protection of the sweat sheened shoulder.

He predicted hand shaped bruises on the unblemished skin as his nails pitted into the outskirts of his pelvis.

The instant pleasure and pain slung Naruto into a strong convulsion. A splatter of white semen exploded on both their stomachs as he screamed, his grasp on reality slipping, head spinning. He could barely handle the flurry of his strongest orgasm to date. He desperately clung to Sasuke, coiling his legs around Sasuke's active hips. He gradually died down from the delightful high, swallowing the knot in his throat.

The contractions in his slick hole pulsed around Sasuke, pulling him into the abyss.

"Mmm, you gonna cum, Sus?" Naruto breathily asked with pleasure-filled gasps, affectionately running his fingers through Sasuke's hair. Sasuke weakly nodded into Naruto's neck, choppily breathing.

He collapsed off the proverbial free-fall, releasing a burst of thick white liquid inside Naruto's accepting caves. He hissed, thrusting enough to milk every drop from beginning to end. Blinded by the dark spots of pleasure muddling his vision, he felt a spike in the pleasure when Naruto emitted a beautiful consenting sigh. A somber expel of air fled Sasuke as he felt the erratic rise and fall of Naruto's chest underneath him. Sasuke forced himself up, carefully pulling out of Naruto. A surge of semen followed behind his firmly erect cock, the fluid salaciously dripping out as the oversensitive hole winked back at him.

Sasuke swallowed hard, regarding the soft glow of the lamp on the blushing man, his unsatisfied grey eyes flying over Naruto's relaxed expression.

"Mm, it's soooo warm S'ske," Naruto observed, feeling Sasuke's cum drip out, soiling the sheets underneath. Obviously drunk but pleased, Naruto came face to face with Sasuke, slapping a wet one on him. He smiled, sporadically kneading Sasuke's throbbing erection. His hot breath radiated against Sasuke's lips—the stifling scent of Henny currently clogging his inhibitions—as his nose greeted the tip of Sasuke's, his lips desperately mumbled, "_Again_."

Naruto withdrew, his beaming gaze articulating: _Once would never be enough for us._

Sasuke agreed, indulging fully in the irresistible blond—three times, allowing the morning break to take care of itself.

…

**BOOM!**

**I did it? Did I do good? No? haha. Excited for the next chapter? :D  
>I'm so sorry for the late update. I have been so busy with senior year and applying to colleges, extracurricular activities, my college class along with additional problems. I only work on this in free time.<br>Erm, I made a tumblr! :D I'll put the link in my profile if you're interested. Also, I added a poll so you guys could let me know which story you want me to update. They'll be updated based on reader priority. Next is Doubleheader.**

**Please review or whatever, it's so much appreciated? :3**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the support. You guys made me cry. My support system is limited to non-existent, so to just hear such nice, supportive things makes me so happy. I love you guys. I apologize for not replying to your wonderful messages, I just can't. I would sound like a bumbling idiot (don't I already.) trying to explain how grateful I am. Just thank you. I love every single one of you, even if you never reviewed me. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all of you here (:**

**Warning: In this chapter, men are sharing and I don't mean drugs or rock 'n roll. Okay, let me be blunt, there is explicit content in this chapter. If you don't like, please don't read. Tankkkkyou.**

Sort of Unbeta'd.

**|||Element|||**

Captive to a casual numbness, Naruto quietly rested, feeling like he was restrained to his bedspread. He rubbed his eyes as he stirred in the warm sheets. Rolling up into an upward position, he looked around in the semi-lit room. There was no one in here as far as he could see. That was a relief, considering how drunk he had gotten. Something could have gone horribly wrong. He could have ended up elsewhere, naked and confused. Thankfully he didn't.

Alas, he was so very wrong.

He wriggling about and touched a cold sticky substance smeared between his legs. Tremendously confused, he swiped it up and observed it closely. His curiosity quickly reversed into hapless shock. By the time his brain juices began to flow, his mouth had already dropped to the floor and he was blinking several times, hoping the truth would change.

It was semen.

_Semen_.

WHAT? When did this happen? Last night's memories certainly didn't carry over, only this monstrous hangover.

He looked around the room again, virtually panicked. Fully alarmed, he tried to think back. Who the hell did he sleep with last night?

He quickly referred to his bedside for any evidence but found no evidence presiding there. So, if he did sleep with someone last night, _who _was it?

He didn't remember inviting someone into his over. All he remembered was that he was devastated about the conversation he had with his counselor then he had returned home and gotten piss drunk. To the best of his knowledge, the last person he spoke with was… Sasuke.

Then… That means…

He wiped his hands on the soiled sheets and shot out of the bed. He pulled on his dirty pair of boxers, practically flying into the hallway.

The half nude, the glowing Uchiha strode out of the kitchen, munching on a bland waffle. "Morning," he said flatly.

Naruto literally exploded at Sasuke's coolness. "Sasuke, what the hell happened last night!?"

Sasuke swallowed some of his unconventional breakfast and smirked, wallowing in Naruto's rattled reaction. "There was a party in your ass last night and luckily only I was invited…" Sasuke nodded, finding his explanation satisfying, seeing as it was _self-explanatory_.

"Hope that also explains the mess on the bed."

Naruto swallowed thickly. "Sasuke, we weren't supposed to…" He slapped his hand over his forehead, frustrated. "have sex."

"Probably not, but we did." Sasuke shrugged.

"Sasuke, you have a girlfriend and I just broke up with my so-_called_ boyfriend," Naruto urgently deadpanned to his onetime lover hoping it would shine a small light of perspective on the dim situation. To his dismay, the statement didn't affect the older male the way he hoped, actually it didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. Even after Naruto's simplification of their episode of _mis_conduct, it didn't even seem to spark a mite of remorse to ring on his neutral expression. It was evident he wasn't even concerned about the prospective consequences that surrounded this, this…

"Yeah, that's probably the worst part…" Sasuke shrugged carelessly again, biting the waffle again.

"Why the fuck are you so calm about this?!" Naruto dangerously rumbled, feeling his firsts curl at his sides.

"Why would I be panicked about it? You said you wanted me to fuck you, so I did," Sasuke said rakishly, taking another bite. "I mean, I'm not really above helping the needy. Would you have really have preferred I left you deprived?" Sasuke asked, with mocking seriousness.

Naruto frowned at the question and then rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke I was _drunk_… I'll say a lot of things." Naruto heavily blew down at Sasuke's response. Excuses whirled around in his head as a coping method as they always had. But he knew even all the excuses in the world wouldn't quash the degree of this once in a lifetime occurrence.

"Yeah, that's true. But you say a lot of things when you're sober too," Sasuke muttered evenly.

Naruto growled, feeling his skin heat with infuriation. "_**Sasuke**_, we're not supposed to be _fucking_ fucking! Sakura's my best friend and you're her boyfriend…" Naruto shamefully covered his face, but unable to cover up a shred of self-hatred shedding from his skin. As Sasuke looked at him, he felt his conscience come alive like the mythical beast, Cerberus. Inevitably, the stress was weighed down Sasuke's cockiness and steep overconfidence.

"We're not supposed to be that close." Naruto distraughtly shook his head. "_Ever_."

Sasuke frowned deeply. Was… Naruto implying he regretted what they did last night?

Naruto nervously rubbed his arm, feeling a chill roll over his bare chest. For the first time, he felt the hickies and bruises ache on his delicate flesh. If it weren't for the cold climate that just overcame the room, he was sure he wouldn't have felt a thing.

Plunging in a sea of fear, his scared blue eyes connected with Sasuke's absorptive ones. "We didn't even use protection."

Every implication hidden in the statement shook Sasuke to his raw core. Naruto must have been frightened about their impromptu encounter. In a hot rush, all of Naruto's concerns returned to him.

"_I do, but not now… I'm graduating soon and I have a job. Now just wouldn't be a good time…"_

Pregnancy.

Suddenly, he felt stupid. How could he forget a prophylactic? He already knew Naruto's position on children, he should have remembered it. Regrettably, in the heat of the moment and even the moments in between, he never thought about a condom, only plowing the hot, tight hole Naruto so willingly offered.

It was mistake—he knew it. They both did. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it now. Dwelling on it wouldn't do them any good because they both knew it was impossible to change the past.

As he glanced into beautiful eyes plagued with a miserable glum, he felt even worse.

"Naruto, I—"

"I need to go shower," He mumbled, walking back toward the master bedroom.

With the force Sasuke used, it was miracle he didn't yank Naruto's arm out the socket when he dragged him back in front of him.

Dazzled blue eyes attached to infuriated grey ones.

"You don't get to walk away like this is all my fault. It takes two to tango, _Naruto_."

The Uzumaki felt a surge of insults but for some reason, they never emerged. He just stared at the truth swimming in Sasuke's firm grey eyes, unable to move away.

Callous hands cupped his round face and cradled it like…

_They had made love last night._

In the space of time he was distracted, Sasuke stared at his open lips dearly, thumb stroked open lips, staring at them dearly. "You needed it—I know you did."

"Sas—"

"The way my name rolled off your tongue… The way your body writhed… the way you begged for more… The way your face was scrunched in overwhelming pleasure… You were beautiful," Sasuke recited, his mesmerized gaze fixed on the unflinching man before him. The blond opened his mouth to react but couldn't formulate a decent response. Sasuke's prospective was layered with so much depth and emotion, he _couldn't_ adequately respond.

He couldn't even recall the time span Sasuke was talking about. He blamed his low inhibitions in conjunction with the bitter substance. If he hadn't been so wasted, he would at least have an idea what he was talking about…

His head pounded like a drum and he looked at Sasuke bewildered. He just wanted to disappear, before this got too far, before _they _were too far gone—

An unexpected reflex stall prohibited him from stopping the pending kiss. Three seconds into the magnificent gesture, he thanked his slow reflexes for granting him this peace of solace. Sasuke's sly tongue stroked his and he slightly whimpered. Despite his fragile emotions, he didn't pull away or give any indication he wished for Sasuke to stop. With that enlightenment, the Uchiha's clammy digits clutched his reddened cheeks as his mouth fervidly urged him to comply.

Hesitantly, he contributed, fearing the melting wave of guilt that evaporated like an icecap in the dead heat of summer. Tentatively, he touched Sasuke's forearm, dreading the outcome he had with the unattainable man.

A burning infatuation spread throughout his body like a brush fire as Sasuke swiped his tongue over the seam of his mouth. Pleasure swelling inside him, against his better judgment, he gave himself permission to sweep from Sasuke's protruding abdominal muscles to the base of his low riding boxers.

The sun rose higher in the sky and morning birds chirped, as bright rays flooded the room through cracked blinds. Like the sunlight, a tsunami of temptation came flooding into his blood stream. The fact that there hadn't even been a 24 hour interval between their wild sexual display and now made his stomach queasy with worry. If they did this once, there was a high possibility they would do this again…

And again.

And again.

Like a never-ending cycle.

But this concern didn't stop Sasuke's monstrous kiss. He continued to gently nibble on the inside of lip where a slight soreness lied, mildly prodding at his jutting shoulder blades with one hand. Naruto unconsciously moaned, tilting into the older man, tasting the waffle crumb remnants on his mouth. Truly miffed by Sasuke's incredible philia, Naruto gasped, headily applying more pressure to Sasuke's pale lips.

Before he was prepared, Sasuke ended the intimacy, grabbing him with his intense grey eyes that flashed a dangerous, threatening ebony. He shivered. Sasuke's severe insistence that –

"This wasn't a mistake. So don't call it that. That would be…" He skittishly glanced away, then confidently back. "A mistake."

Sasuke touched his blushing cheeks, his gaze following his own fingers. "Naruto… Say you don't regret this…"

He was going to, he really was, but he felt the words lodge in his throat as he looked down at his clammy toes.

Sasuke swallowed thickly, bitterly closing his eyes. "Guess, I have my answer."

Naruto couldn't—watch as Sasuke dressed and walked out his door. So he didn't.

:::

_We can't do this._

:::

From the start, he was attracted to Sasuke. But he never thought that they would actually act on it. He thought he'd be the coyote chasing the road runner. But, that wasn't what happened. Somehow, he'd caught up to Sasuke and gotten what he wanted. Unfortunately, he didn't feel any sense of relief. It was just bittersweet. After experiencing rides on his fast cars, witty humor, and stark compassion in his many wonderful deeds, he thought that he wouldn't have felt a pinch of guilt after escalating their advantageous relationship. But this morning when he put his grimy bed sheets into the washing machine, he felt like the biggest disgrace to humanity. He had betrayed Sakura's trust and violated Sasuke's loyalty all in one night.

And just when he thought it couldn't get _any _worse, he slayed any hope of preserving a relationship with Sasuke by not admitting it wasn't a mistake. Because it wasn't.

He should have admitted it but he just couldn't.

Sighing, he sat down in the last available seat in his Management class which was _fortunately_ in front of the last person he wanted to see, his ex-boyfriend. He rolled his eyes and rudely pulled out his seat, the leg of the chair hitting Gaara in the right calf. Naruto ignored his starchy glare as he plopped in the chair, staring at the animated professor motioning in the front.

He pretended to listen, chin in hand, but in reality, he was molding over what happened the night before.

Did Sasuke take advantage of his inebriated state or he really beg Sasuke for sex?

He wouldn't have done that…right?

Not with his best friend's boyfriend.

Sadly, the strain on his thighs and the plum handprints on his hips indicated otherwise.

He obviously did something last night and he _doubted_ Sasuke held him down to do it. Judging by the amount of purpling bite marks on Sasuke's perfect white skin, the act was clearly consensual.

Guessing by the way Sasuke kissed him this morning—he deeply blushed—he must have done something right… Right?

He must have. Sasuke appeared to be quite taken with his display of sexuality and possibly his flexibility…

His body turned even redder. Maybe he should stop thinking now. If he didn't, he was going to drive himself insane.

Class neared its end and he scribbled down the class' 6th essay assignment on a lose piece of paper. Feeling a pair of holes burn into his back, he responded by snubbing the resentful senior by stoically standing as the class followed his lead. Facing the spacious windows, he put his folder back in his Jansport bookbag without looking at the male at his near left.

Naruto waited for him to rehash something from their irrelevant past, or make a useless pass at him but he didn't. He just stood and stared. Not realizing what he was staring at, Naruto just glared and assimilated into the crowd of their departing classmates.

Little did the oblivious blond know that Gaara's green eyes were fixed on the mauve marking above the collar of his casual button down. Infuriated, he began following Naruto. He stayed in hot pursuit but he still managed to lose Naruto among the body of chattering students.

Bling with rage, the redhead stopped in his footsteps, mulling over the possessive mark left on Naruto's skin. Who had left it there? Was Naruto having sex with someone else? If so, who?

Running his fingers through his unruly hair, he felt his anger come to a boil. What the fuck was happening?

In his episode of fury, a familiar face nearly breezed near. Luckily, he was quick to snag them by the arm before they unknowingly made their escape. He fiercely slammed their back into the wall, clutching their collar with a death grip.

"Neji! Do you know what the fuck you've done?" The pale man grabbed Gaara's hand with a frown.

"Do tell me what the hell you're talking about?" The brunet asked rather condescendingly. "And in the process would you mind getting your damn hands off me, you disgusting brute," Neji haughtily sneered. He didn't like being touched by anyone, especially psychotic exes. He presumed he was whining about Naruto again like he always was. But he didn't really care. He just wanted the man to go away, preferably now.

"Naruto broke up with me—"

Neji rolled his eyes, exasperated. "And how is that my fault?"

"If you had stayed the fuck away from me—"

"What? You two would have ridden into the sunset? Listen. I fucking _doubt that._ If Naruto's moved on, _let_ him."

Gaara appeared to be absolutely appalled by the notion. "I don't _want_ him to move on. He's **mine**," Gaara said trying to convince himself. He had seen the sexual marks left on Naruto's body—implying that for one night Naruto belonged to another that wasn't him. The thought utterly disgusted him straight into a jealous rampage. Naruto allowed someone that wasn't him to have him completely. Wasn't he still damaged from their break-up?

"It's not about you. Let Naruto live his life. A _Gaara-free_ life." Neji smirked, making Gaara even angrier. He slammed Neji against the wall again, jostling the books free of his arm's grip.

"If you come near me again, I'll slit your fucking throat," Gaara seethed, skulking back into his search for the careless blond.

Neji snorted, moving pick up his books but he was beat to the punch by a tan hand.

Bent at the waist, the scraggy coffee colored hair man lifted the book, smiling. Shifting uncomfortably, Neji's aluminum eyes scoped out warm ebony eyes, high cheek bones, and his inviting toothy grin questioningly. For some odd reason, his heart skipped a crucial beat as he inspected the unfamiliar man.

"These are yours, right?" The apparently friendly man asked, smile still intact.

"Um, yeah. Thank you…" Neji cocked his head, narrowing his eyes curiously, realizing he didn't know _who_ to thank.

"Name's Kiba," He announced proudly.

"Kiba." He nodded slowly, concluding the man's name was bewitching in a peculiar way. He even thought he could make a habit of saying it in the future. Hopefully, he was getting ahead of himself.

"Thanks…Kiba," He said cautiously, savoring each letter.

"Don't mention it…" He said, craftily trying to get the attractive male's name.

"Neji, my name's Neji," He sputtered thoughtlessly, unsure why this unknown man was making him _feel_ feelings. Usually, it was hard to make him even bat an eyelash but this person was making him _nervous_… **in public**…How in all the cold hells was this happening?

Kiba chuckled at Neji's visible rush of emotions.

"Nice to meet you Neji. Try not to drop anything else today. Especially anything valuable." Kiba conspicuously looked the rattled Hyuuga up and down, quietly planning to catch Naruto before he left campus. Hopefully, this small detour wouldn't ruin his chances of hitching a ride.

Kiba took his leave, _leaving_ Neji gasping for a pocket of air.

And for the first time in a long time, he was speechless.

…

Naruto arrived home. He rolled his stiff neck and spitefully threw down his bag. He just wanted to lie down and relax. Today had been long enough as it is. Gaara was actually in class today for a change which was classically strange. He didn't routinely invest time in improving his intellect so Naruto could only surmise that he wanted to keep close tabs on him.

It was a waste of time though. No amount of convincing was going to change his mind. They were really over this time.

Falling to the bed, he closed his eyes and sighed.

Why did his life have to be so complicated?

Everything was so messed up.

He'd broken up with Gaara, slept with Sasuke, and betrayed Sakura all in one go.

Unintentionally, he burned bridges with Sasuke.

He probably felt so used and abused…

Naruto didn't mean to hurt him but he didn't want to cause anymore issues. It was baffling enough that Sasuke had cheated on Sakura but still made it sound like they were only the two in the world.

It wasn't like Sasuke's girlfriend was some nameless, faceless entity. It was Sakura. His love. His best friend. And he betrayed her terribly. He was intimate with her lover and… and he wasn't sorry.

Curling into his comforter, feeling like the scum of the Earth, he fell asleep silently wondering about what he and Sasuke had shared.

_A heavy ambiance of sexual starvation blended in with the distinct smell of sex and heavy sweat that loomed in the room. Eyes were searching, faces were forming into a puddle of fond politeness, and they were spending time familiarizing themselves with the contours of their bodies until they were fully acquainted. They wanted to remember every trail, every taste, every caress. In theory, they just wanted this moment to last, beyond just now. They wanted the imagery to live on their own memories—play behind their eyes as they carried on with their daily lives. To never forget. Ever._

_Sasuke inherently groaned, kneading Naruto's supple ass cheeks, reveling in the gentle curves of his beautiful body. The blond accepted the gesture as a brush of excitement, cuing him to slowly finger the rare eight pack of his night time lover, adding a small hit of pleasure to the sum he was already savoring. He intentionally rocked on Sasuke's cock, not expecting a hot ball of pleasure to throttle him into a different galaxy. Despite the sensitivity bunching inside him, he managed to ride harder, propelling a mildly rough moan to bust through his kiss-bitten lips. _

_Sasuke's thick dick continued to brush his tender prostate, sending a ripple of ecstasy through his pelvis. As a result his painfully hard cock leaked an ample amount of sticky pre-cum onto Sasuke's lower stomach. The dark haired man gruffly moaned at the deep harmonization of the lust driving their every ministration. He couldn't help but appreciate that even though he was sweaty and exerted, the beautiful man was still putting a considerable amount of effort into pleasing them into their second completion. _

_He pressed his hands on Sasuke's chest, enabling him to enthusiastically bounce as he pleased. After his small burst, he drew back, permitting his hands to slide back to Sasuke's lower stomach. He blinked slowly, feeling mellow from the surge of pleasure. and looked into Sasuke's foggy eyes with an unmistakable glimpse of affection. back, he took Sasuke's hand into his, fitting his fingers into the spaces in between. When he inspected the gesture intently, he smiled. They fit so perfectly, for a second he questioned if they were made for each other._

"_You're something special…" Sasuke's detached his hand and cupped his face. Naruto nudged his hand onto his lips, torpidly kissing every digit. He smiled, appreciating the meaningful compliment considering he didn't receive them often._

"_I could say the same about you," Naruto breathlessly admired, lowering himself back onto Sasuke's cock, the pleasure nearly paralyzing him. He threw his head back as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. "Oh God," he softly whispered. _

_Their hands reunited and Sasuke intently regarded his expression, mumbling slowly, "__**Gorgeous**__."_

Naruto woke with a start, throwing the comforter of him, face red with embarrassment.

Did he just remember what happened…last night? With Sasuke?

…He believed so.

The way Sasuke touched him, the affection, his words…

It was incredible and… he wanted to do it again… _badly_.

Fingering his tangled hair, he blew down heavily.

He wanted to be true to Sakura.

He wanted to be a good person. He really did but when he thought about it. It wasn't getting him anywhere.

He did everything he was supposed to. Be a good lover. Be a good best friend. Be a good student.

But where did it get him?

Nowhere.

After doing everything by the book, he still had nothing. He was still as emotionally empty as a glass container.

Maybe if he bent the rules a little, a little enjoyment could enter his life without the use of alcohol or narcotics.

Hopping out the bed, he knew exactly what he needed to do to make it happen.

…

Waiting to be called for walk-in appointment at the city free clinic, he stared at the small poster of a grinning baby. Thinking about the basic requirements for a baby, he shivered. As appealing as it seemed, he wasn't prepared to provide a stable environment for a baby. He was stuck with a low-paying job as a behind-the-counter assistant at a five star hotel and to top it all off, he only had a measly two bedroom apartment, nothing suitable for a newborn.

Frowning, Naruto heard his name called. He readily went into the confidential room. The receptionist told him that he would be seen by one of the free clinic's nurses, then an M.D. He just hoped it went quickly so he could return home.

"Hello." The brunette woman dressed in pink scrubs smiled sitting a small desk with a modern computer and his file.

"Hi," Naruto politely said sitting in the chair he assumed was for the patient.

"How may I help you today?" She asked, quickly typing in his age and birthdate into the system form then giving him her full attention.

"Um, I came here to get the morning after-pill and birth control."

"When's the last time you had sex?" She asked.

Naruto blushed, suddenly visualizing Sasuke in his boxers all over again. "Last night…"

"About 12 hours ago?"

"Yeah, give or take."

"Did you and your partner use protection?"

"Um, no," Naruto muttered thoughtfully, not even realizing she was typing away his answers.

"Is that the last time you've recently had sex?"

"Mhmm." Naruto nodded.

She typed a few more things and then fully turned to him. "We're going to have you take a urine test to check for pregnancy and gonorrhea. Is that alright?"

"Yes," Naruto quickly answered.

Soon enough, he returned with his urine sample. They thoroughly examined it to find neither of the disastrous the problems. Knowing that she happily continued, issuing the morning after pill.

"You may feel some nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, stomach pains, fatigue, cramps, and general discomfort but it all should be temporary. You can take Tylenol to relieve the symptoms. If they don't improve, please come back in and see us, okay?" She instructed firmly.

Naruto nodded, downing the pills.

"Great," She said with a smile. "So, you'll see the doctor now."

She opened the doctor's door for him.

"Good luck," She said warmly.

Naruto smiled. "Thank you."

The long haired woman in conventional doctor attire had a broad smile on her face. "Welcome. Have a seat!"

Naruto did, glad he didn't have stand at the door feeling stupid.

"How can I help you today, Mr. Uzumaki?

"Birth control options. Specifically the shot."

"Ah," She said looking at the protection poster hung on the wall above her desk.

99% effectiveness with a constant working solution.

She understood why he wanted to use it.

"I'm assuming you already researched the pros and cons of this form of contraception," She said putting her hands in her white lab coat putting, leaning against her desk.

"Not really," Naruto admitted.

"I would give you one shot right. It would last about three months with 99.9% effectiveness. Common side effects are weight gain, cramps, headaches, dizziness, and possible delayed fertility."

"That won't be a problem." Naruto laughed.

"I'm sure it won't be." She smiled. "Would you like me to administer the drug to you now?"

"Um, yes please." He eagerly sat up. She left and Naruto took a breather. After this lone step, he would have done everything he needed to do to complete his vision. He was so excited he could hardly breathe.

She returned with a scary looking needle and a small vial. In reflex, Naruto gulped when she asked him to pull his pants down. Wincing he unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down for the greater good.

Pulling on a pair of sterilized gloves, she inserted the needle into the vial and filled the needle up.

"Okay, partner. Saddle up." She looked at his scared face.

"Ready?" She cheerily exclaimed.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Naruto whispered, holding onto his jeans and pulling up one leg of his boxers.

She cleaned an area on his upper thigh with an alcohol swab. Smiling, she winked. "It won't hurt that much, dear."

Closing his eyes, Naruto felt a staggering pinch and then a stiff numbness.

"That's it," She said quietly. "You're all done!"

Naruto opened one blue eye to the snapping of the rubber gloves. He slowly released the tight grip he had on his jeans.

The blue eyed doctor reached into the drawer and pulled out a Band-Aid. She carefully peeled it off and put it on his sore thigh.

Naruto's eye twitched when he saw his smiling SpongeBob character on the Band-Aid.

"You're all set. Do you want a lollipop?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm 20."

Her smile disappeared. "You look so much younger… I didn't…"

"Read my file?" Naruto asked, putting his pants back on.

"Aha," she rubbed the back of her neck, smiling. "Do you still want the lollipop?"

Naruto thoughtfully looked at her, shame in his eyes. "Yes."

She handed him an orange flavored one. "Okay! Have a good day!"

…

Sasuke paused outside the law firm and fumbled for his cellphone. He dialed Naruto's number from memory. He frowned as it idly rang. His bubbly voicemail chimed into Sasuke's ear. He listened to it unfulfilled.

Their castle had finally crumbled… Naruto didn't want his friendship.

And he had to accept that.

…

When Naruto arrived home he took two painkillers in order to alleviate the pain of the morning after pill. Eating a small snack, he called in early for the night. Feeling refreshed in the morning, he just spent the day alone, relieved that his teacher canceled class for the day. Later in the afternoon, Naruto squirmed when Sakura called him. Suddenly, he feared Sasuke fed her the truth. But when her squeaky voice echoed in his ear he figured Sasuke didn't. She just wanted to hang out and Naruto couldn't say no.

…

With a fake smile on his face, he walked into her toasty home, closing the door behind him. He didn't expect much upon entering. Maybe a small reunion, combined with a little chat but nothing more than that. As he shouldn't have. It wasn't unusual for him and Sakura to go long periods of time without seeing one another. They did have different lives after all. This would just be a small get together to confirm that they truly were friends – and for him to understand his absence of guilt.

But as soon as he saw Sasuke on plastered on her couch, he continually battled the temptation to run back to his cooling car not hitting the brakes until he reached home. This wasn't what he wanted. Only Sakura was supposed to be here, waiting for him. Not Sasuke. Never Sasuke.

They weren't prepared to run into each other yet. So many things were said and so many things were left unsaid and now just wasn't the right time. He had no idea how handle Sasuke and the weight of the stress hampering the room.

He'd been planning on seeing Sasuke again soon but on his own terms, when he was ready to resolve their issues when he was emotionally stable. Now, he wanted to see Sakura and show her that everything was fine. He didn't really sign up to be reunited with his rendezvous instead.

The tension thickened the air and Naruto gulped hard, playing with his fingers. Frozen and shocked, they stared intensely stared at each other practically _giving away_ their transgression.

Sasuke's stare was blank, his lips unturned, remaining collected, not giving away a hint of emotion to the skittish man. That amount of apparent carelessness scared Naruto. What was he thinking? Was he mad? Worried? Repentant? Naruto couldn't say for sure. He also couldn't say that he wanted to find out.

Sasuke could be primal and just as scary as a serpent when he wanted to be. Naruto knew that. What he didn't know was whether Sasuke planned on unleashing that horrible energy on him or not…

Sasuke felt his blood heat up to a dangerously high level as he bored into crystalline blue eyes acutely. He had gotten his phone call. He had received his text messages but he didn't respond. He was intentionally ignoring him when he tried to reach him. But he magically appeared in a moment's notice when Sakura called. He understood that she was his best friend but he couldn't just forget everything that night. He was trying to dissolve the pinch of high strung emotions between them but Naruto wasn't giving him many options.

He saw Naruto move uncomfortably in his clothes and he felt his range of irritation skyrocket, causing him to shift in the couch, a channel for his aggravation.

Things could have been molded over days ago but this idiot was avoiding him, purposely preventing him from making amends.

Naruto just needed to admit that what happened was what he wanted, regardless of the crappy circumstances and dire consequences that awaited him.

Sasuke knew that alcohol made the inhibitions loose and made the heart talk. So, whatever excuse Naruto planned on serving him, he could save it.

Naruto felt his heart squeeze tightly_. She never mentioned Sasuke was here… _Naruto thought uneasily, moving into the living room slowly.

She wasn't currently visible but he could hear her softly humming nearby. He wanted to greet her but he wasn't sure if he could properly tell her hello without projecting an abnormal disparity. Maybe if he maintained his head, Sakura wouldn't notice his strange behavior or the strain in his voice. It was going to be hard, especially with those grey orbs claiming every shred of his sanity.

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto jerkily covered his faltering emotions with a smile. "Hey, Sakura!" He called happily. She quickly ran out of the kitchen and threw her arms around his neck, giggling. Naruto returned the love, flinchingly, so obvious even at the strained distance, Sasuke noticed.

"I missed you!" With an influx of emotions, she stepped away and punched him right in the chest.

"Ow!" Naruto cried out, clutching the throbbing left breast. "What was that for?"

She ignored his cries and haughtily placed her hands on her hips. "Where the hell have you been? Would it kill your stubby little fingers to pick up the phone?!"

Shocked by the insult, Naruto's mouth fell open. "My fingers are not stubby."

Sakura glared. "That's not the point."

Naruto pointed his nose pretentiously in the air. "In that case, I've been, y'know, busy."

Naruto shivered when he felt a shameless glare of irritation cauterize his entire body. In the classic 'Sasuke' succession, a snort clipped Naruto's ability to play off _their _indiscretion. He trembled and felt his spine tingle. That wasn't going to make this easy was he?

"Busy with what? And it better be good 'cause stuffing your infinite black hole doesn't count."

"I don't have—"

"Naruto!"

"School and work and all that _whoo_ha." Naruto rolled his eyes with a sigh. "On that note, I can't stay long."

"Huh, is that so? I'd say you're avoiding me." She raised a brow, folding her arms.

He wished there was bright side to his business but there was not. The only thing that he was really preoccupied with was thoroughly entertaining Sasuke and his cock… And that was hardly anything he would want to enlighten her about.

Feeling his ears burn, he tucked his fingers into pockets.

"Avoiding? Interesting choice of words," Sasuke muttered spitefully.

"I am not avoiding anyone," Naruto snapped in response to each snide comment. "I'm just..." Naruto moved his bangs aside, his painfully guarded eyes unveiling a shard of expression and Sakura softened.

"Baby, do you want to talk about it?" She captured his hand, looking deeply into his depressed blue eyes.

Naruto shook his head, sadly. "I'm fine. I'll deal. I always do." He softly half smiled, hoping to crush at least some of her worry. He knew it was poor attempt to make her feel better but it was the best in his condition.

"If you need anything, you know you can come to me, Naruto," She whispered tenderly. Somehow, it had the opposite effect in which she intended for it to have.

Naruto lowered his head. "I know," he mumbled, as an emotional head pain rose. "I have to go."

"Be safe," she said, her warm soft lips kissing him on the temple before she returned to the kitchen.

Trusting that the conversation about him was through, he trudged toward the door only to be stopped by a docile touch. A high-pitched bleat broke out as Naruto blenched against the palm connecting with his waist. He looked over his shoulder at a shockingly undefended face. He revisited the temptation to look for something

Blue catching grey, Naruto was steadily worried about the intimate contact in _Sakura's_ household. It was one thing to do in the privacy of his home but another to do it in beyond the scope of his personal bedroom. It was morally unacceptable… Right?

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, his voice filed with hurt, a twitch of anger, and disappointment. Feeling hesitant about the blend of emotions coming from his one-time lover, he stared feeling slighted.

"We need to talk," Naruto muttered, his hand grasping the doorknob tightly.

Sasuke nodded, still not removing his hand. "I know, I—"

"Not here," Naruto reminded. "Come over tomorrow afternoon. And we'll… _talk_."

Naruto felt Sasuke creep his hand around his waist. He neither protested nor complained. He knew Sasuke needed it.

"Goodnight," He mumbled, his bright blue eyes scaring all the hurt away but dragging in a new bout of fear to replace it.

Sasuke drew his hand away slowly, giving Naruto the opportunity to leave.

"Night," he whispered dismally, only watching as Naruto walked into the night.

…

Sasuke wished he was fortuneteller, no a mind reader. Not one of the phony ones that bamboozled unknowing idiots out of their money. A real one that actually made could tell people what they were thinking. As he slightly frowned, he realized he would never wish for such a pitiful ability if he wasn't staring into unreadable blue eyes that scanned him like he was Christmas gift that he didn't exactly ask for. Surprisingly, Sasuke couldn't gather what he was thinking from his cordial position because it was neither welcoming nor repellent. The hands folded in his lap didn't fidget or tighten. His shoulders were squared and his neck seemed lax. His pullover hoodie and bright blue skinny jeans were in particularly good condition like they were brand new, maybe even worn for this occasion. Not that Sasuke was getting ahead of himself, but they looked like the perfect outfit to take _off._

Cutting the air in the room, Naruto slowly exhaled and Sasuke felt his heart beat excel like a racecar. Naruto's beautiful lips opened and closed and he wanted to kiss him terribly. But he knew that wasn't the best idea. Naruto had used the word 'talk' which meant this wasn't a subject to be toyed with.

He supposed since he was the guest that maybe he should bake the bread of the conversation. "About the other night…" He closed his eyes and reopened them. "I know you weren't excited the morning after. I know, I didn't use a condom… and…"

"Sasuke," Naruto said in his sweet, reassuring tone. Sasuke stopped, allowing Naruto to take the wheel. "M'not pregnant…"

Suddenly, Sasuke was relieved but only because Naruto wasn't ready to accept the idea of pregnancy not because he wasn't ready to accept responsibility.

"I was drunk that night but I've been seeing bits and pieces and…" His hand moved Sasuke's thigh as he lurked toward him on the living room couch. "I want to do it again, if you still want me that is…" Naruto blinked seductively, his hand meeting the imminent destination of the blessing between Sasuke's legs. Surprised, Sasuke felt heat coil underneath his jeans and pleasure muddle his mind. Was Naruto really saying this? Or was he having one of his unrealistic fantasies about Naruto's compliance?

"I want to be awake and alert this time," Naruto whispered hoarsely, the husky tone making Sasuke even harder.

The beautiful blond reached forward and stole a kiss, capriciously. "Is that too much to ask?" His hot breath fanned over Sasuke's face, his lust soaked eyes searching Sasuke's for acceptance. The urge to mention his doctor visit was strong but held back. He wanted to drive Sasuke into his arms but suddenly he wanted more than that. He wanted Sasuke to want him whether he knew about the trip or not...

Suddenly, he was thrust forward by Sasuke's brute strength. He gasped at the blunt interaction, putting a safeguarding hand on Sasuke's chest.

But despite his slowing hand, that didn't keep Sasuke from him kissing him on his unbearably pliable lips. Exploring the dewy heat of Naruto's mouth, his plain interest for his girlfriend's friend rumbled in his throat. He didn't even know how hard he was squeezing Naruto's jutting shoulder blades until he moaned against him receptively. He pulled back and audited Naruto, noticing the luxuria floating in Naruto's usually sinless eyes. He felt a spiritual bonding happen as they looked deeply into each other's eyes.

"Course I fucking want you," he thornily ground out, "Who wouldn't…?"

Naruto eyes descended on Sasuke's lips hungrily, feeling like he was swimming in an ocean of lava. "Then you can _have_ me."

…

Damnnn, haha, you guys thought Phoenix was going to be conceived now but you guys forgot. Phoenix is born in August. –Wink wink- Ooo, please tell me what you thought. Thanks Thanks Thanks, till next time ;)


	11. Short

So update: For those of you who do not follow Doubleheader, I did graduate HS early and I started an accelerated college and came out with a perfect GPA. Yay me. As for my health, I suppose it hasn't gotten any better but motivation to do creative things hasn't worsened either. For those of you who have never experienced depression, it is like hating to eat your favorite food because you don't find it appealing anymore. Such a feeling is very stressful and very well, depressing. I'm trying but it is very hard. But thanks for all of you who stuck with me. And for all of you that didn't, there's a special place in hell with your name written all over it—enjoy! (:

If you would like to leave a review or feedback, you will have to leave it anonymously because you cannot review the same chapter twice. If you would like to contact me directly, just PM me. I will respond forthwith.

This story has been fully edited content. So reread if need be. This chapter is short preface in relation to the next chapter that is coming in the next coming few days. So, let me know what you think so I can add that ASAP.

**-Short-**

The night hummed a soft tune, rescuing them from the arming silence that reflected guilt and pain. The worries and constant rewrites he could pen in his head would interfere. Tonight, they could be hypocrites. They could be sinners. No judgments, no regrets.

The trees shuffled and the winds whistled in the pitch black of the merciless night.

Although, his blond mop was a mess and his clothing was scruffy and probably not warm enough his feet remained firmly planted on the concrete.

He was kind of glad that he wasn't the one leaning against the car. The sheet metal was hard and he would agitated and afraid that he couldn't get close enough to touch Sasuke the way he wanted to. Maybe it made him needy but he didn't care. He craved the connection that he knew that Sasuke was receptive to also and he wasn't going to apologize for wanting that.

So he stayed on the sidewalk, close to the man that only dreams delivered. Despite the time, they were still loitering near their destination, which happened to be a nearby shopping center. They stood outside of Sasuke's two month old car—just standing. Not wasting time. But making it.

"I never thought it would end up this way," Naruto muttered against Sasuke's chin, feeling the cold Seattle wind archaically zip past his bare face. Sasuke shifted, handling his hips carefully, minding the bruises that he had incurred previously. Naruto gamely appreciated the thoughtfulness, gladly rewarding the older man with a delicate kiss on his strong jaw.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke's smoky voice ground out, peppered with latent curiosity. The sound toughened Naruto's ears, sacrificing his sanity, the chill metastasizing his will to paddle above sea level. The tone, the richness he could fall madly in love with. Who was to tell, maybe he already had.

"Us, I never thought that would happen," Naruto whispered not out of shame, but in exclusivity.

The breeze kicked up and Sasuke thoughtfully responded, "_Why_?"

"Because you seem to be the type to gravitate elsewhere."

And that was all he had say. His face completed the rest of the tale. Sasuke saw the insecurity flourish and the flicker of hurt reignite. He truly wanted to smother the part of Naruto where these thoughts fawned from but he knew that wasn't immediately possible. Knowing that, he suspended lashing out at Naruto's inner monster. He alternatively settled on a more refined approach.

He ironically smirked. "Hn. There you go again. We're going to have to fix that." The dark haired man demurely touched his face.

This enigma was conjuring puzzles again.

And Naruto was rightly confused.

"_Stop underestimating your worth_." The invisible wind made visible ruckus and Sasuke's mystic, night darkened eyes twinkled. A sound understanding translated in the howl of the crushing leaves and hushed Naruto's wild anxieties.

"Tonight, I want to focus on solely on the fact that I crave you in your entirety."

The shared gaze between the young males was lit with an eternal flame of endless passion.

It was the single most attractive thing that anyone had ever said to him. Making light of his self-doubt, Sasuke knew healing meant it was going to be a journey, a ride until confidence made a well-welcomed entrance. It was going to be a challenge but one he accepted.

"Leave out all the rest," Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded slowly, fearful to break the cherished eye contact. Crippled by the cold, his sore fingers reached Sasuke's neck. "Kay." A kiss ensued as a broadening sea of emotions minted the heart that after being trampled on, torn, and broken, somehow still worked. Sasuke was the validation he needed to prove that happiness still existed somewhere in this odious world. It was just up to all homo sapiens to get up and find it.

And that's exactly what he planned on doing.


	12. Chapter 11

I AM ALIVE. Hi! Nice to be here with all of you again… Thank you for waiting. I appreciate and respect your loyalty. I hope that the wait was worth it. The chapter was as hard to write as a mutha fucka. It didn't help that I doubted myself every other sentence. Then I wrote it. Hated it. Then wrote it again.

Updates in Regards to Fanfiction: A few reviewers/readers on here are not as genuine as they appear. (obviously)

Someone has plagiarized The Wedding Planner, _twice_. Another reviewer told me to give my story to someone else so it could be finished in a timely manner. And (definitely not all, many of you I've talked to are such sweethearts) others I've had the **displeasure** of interacting with were _FAKE_. They claimed they wanted to get better but yet they unfollowed and unfavorited me… It's sad really. I finally understand why many authors leave and don't dare look back. If you're mean, you WILL NEVER achieve the results you want. You kill with kindness lovelies.

Anyway, besides **all** _that _bullshit, here is chapter 11. Enjoy dolls!

;**;**;

Naruto had to pinch himself once, actually twice. Because he couldn't believe this was happening. Sasuke pressed behind him, face buried in his neck, fingers pressured against his sides. It was real… but it still all felt too good to be true…

They had just returned from a casual retreat at a small restaurant, engaged in a short, sexual commiseration and a modest meal. Nothing short of the usual. As they left, Sasuke openly kissed him for all the customers to see.

A clump of nerves irrupted in his stomach as Sasuke's lips greedily consumed his. A small smile tugged at his lips mid-kiss as an ascribable slew of excitement attacked him. When Sasuke pulled away and the high regrettably wore off, they continued on their journey to the car but out of habit, Sasuke held his hand all the way there and then opened the door for him.

He _really_ wasn't dreaming this time. For the _first time,_ he was really in Sasuke's apartment, invading his own personal space, breathing _his_ air. He'd thought about it, briefly fantasized about it, but never expected it to come to fruition. Usually, males were slow to come to terms with their emotional desires. Beating around the bush was common practice. With this knowledge, Naruto prepared himself to wait for Sasuke to fully understand _what_ he was feeling and _**why**_ he was feeling this odd sexual attraction. Sasuke was undisturbed by the additional branch to his apparently evolving sexuality. He was grateful for that little slice of heaven. At least, he didn't have to spend an abundance of time convincing Sasuke of his own conscious emotions.

He had come to him on his own. He figured out everything on his own, without Naruto's guidance, which, believe it or not, was a blessing in disguise. The least he could do was make sure he was comfortable without a worry in the world. Not to be clouded by his guilt or sadness. They were in their own little world. Finally, alone to do what they pleased.

Everything would be ethereally private… Every touch, every kiss, every feeling would be exclusive to them. Even if they tried to, wanted to, their words wouldn't be able to transcend other's barrier of understanding. Not that he expected it to. Words were fickle when it came to emotional accounts. Actions were the only thing considered gospel.

Naruto's thoughts were disrupted the beautiful vibe of the room. The candles readied on the center table pouring a wonderful scent into the air. The dim lights off the kitchen bay, highlighted the edge of the living room, giving it a beautiful, eberscent glow. There was even a bottle of sparkling water set aside if they worked up a sweat from their frenzied activities… It was spectacular. And by his standard, everything was perfect. Especially the heavy but precious scent of oak wood and rose water tickling his sensible nose. His senses were strongly awakened, rattled by the regard. Joy rushed up from his toes to his crown. The flurries of desire enflamed his veins, fueled by Sasuke's body heat was making him feel even more satisfied about his plane of vacillating emotions. The brash tingling felt on the base of his neck made him aware of the rush of excitement that threatened to cripple his very body. Aside from the increase of his blood pressure, the close proximity must have shut off the process of Naruto's lung power because he could barely recognize the oxygen surrounding his organs.

He had a sinking suspicion Sasuke's place was fairly plain and conservative on a daily basis but tonight was different. He had done everything in his power to make sure that everything was more exceptional than usual. And Sasuke didn't need Naruto to tell him that he accomplished his intended goal.

The care and the tenderness put into the appearance of Sasuke's living quarters made Naruto feel special. There was a sinking suspicion that he had Sasuke's place was plain and conservative on a daily basis. But he had done everything in his power to make sure it wasn't in the same state tonight. And Sasuke didn't need Naruto to tell him that he accomplished his goal. He could feel it. It felt warmer, more amative. The aura glistening around it, proved it.

God, this _was_ **extraordinary**.

To add the finishing touches, Sasuke activated the remote fireplace that roasted fresh oak wood in its chambers. Naruto couldn't help but find the hospitality rattling. The blast of flames took the chill out of Naruto's bones whilst Sasuke's hands roamed his body unrestricted. He knew this was wrong. He did. All the acrobatics, all the sweet words. It shouldn't be happening but it was. Not because he wanted it to, because _they_ wanted it to.

Unlike normal people, they weren't exclusively focused on wrong or right. What they were really focused on was making _themselves content._

Ashamedly mellow, he felt his breath snag in his chest as Sasuke's tongue dragged down his jugular, leaving a trail of hot desire. The devilish muscle retracted and then he traded one arousing ministration for another: kisses, trailing all the way up to his ear. Hot breath tickled the shell of his ear and the young male shivered.

He couldn't believe how invigorated he was by Sasuke's energy. It was like every single touch added spark to his life force.

"Do you like it?" Sasuke asked in a low, killer bedroom voice.

Naruto instinctively closed his eyes and leaned back into Sasuke. "_Like it_?" He opened his eyes again and let the hues of deep red, yellow, orange blend into an indiscernible pit of black joy.

"No." He felt Sasuke shutter.

"I _**love**_ it," He muzzily muttered, his voice drenched in awe. And then the dark haired man instantly recovered, feeling the injection of nervousness pass.

"I thought you would," Sasuke whispered assuredly, clenching his teeth onto Naruto's ear lobe, his hand venturing under his shirt like a slithering snake. The blond gasped in response. Somehow, he knew exactly what Sasuke was gunning for. And he was willing to give him just that _and much more_.

"You always know _exactly_ what I want," Naruto mumbled dazedly, craning his neck, permitting Sasuke free access.

"_Always_," Sasuke breathily said, tugging at Naruto's half-zipped hoodie until it was fully open.

He kissed Naruto's exposed neck, eagerly cherishing Naruto's sweet fragrance. "I'm gonna make you cum so fucking hard you're gonna have trouble walking for…_days_."

The blond could feel a cocky smirk reach full maturity against his prickly sienna skin.

Naruto chuckled low in throat, feeling his nervous system actively oppose the overload of sensations. "Awfully certain aren't we?"

"Fucking _positive_."

The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood on end. He was so fucking excited, he was trembling.

Not being consumed by pride, he generously realized that this was the most frazzled he had ever been about anything. Usually, he understood that life had the happenstance to be spontaneous, unconstrained by society, free-spirited. And usually, he was prepared for those areas the shade of grey. He, more than anyone, understood that you couldn't accurately predict his future. You could plan things and maybe even create plans to organize the precarity that you couldn't foresee. It just so happens that tonight was one of those nights.

Within the hour, he was finally going to receive confirmation about the night in question and learn if their impassioned attraction was a fluke or fate.

It was a risky gamble to plan but he didn't care. He was willing to bet it all to find out if Sasuke was what he really needed. _If_ Sasuke was worth his weight in gold, he would keep him around. _If not_, he would take his adventure and his ass elsewhere.

That solely depended on what happened _tonight_.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," He uttered under his breath sultrily. "Now…" He carefully breathed low in his chest, causing Sasuke's heart rate to tick up. "Tell me how we ended up in bed."

Sasuke let up, walked in front of him, grabbed his cheeks and said, "It all started like this…"

Sasuke tilted his head upward and then possessively seized his lips. A frisson of surprise shot through the blond man as Sasuke's hands skittered down to his ass. A cavity of the anticipation swelled with delight as Sasuke flicked his tongue against his, massaging his pleasingly plump ass. He expectedly, moaned as a slab of salvia mingled between them. Sasuke grunted and slowly drew Naruto into him.

Sasuke softly broke the kiss to Naruto's modest satisfaction. His lips reconnected to the corner of his mouth and slowly pulled back. "Then I did this…"

He lifted Naruto up effortlessly and fastened his legs around his waist like he had done once before.

Naruto cheeped at the sudden motion and reflexively grabbed at the Uchiha's shoulders for security.

"And then, I took you…" Naruto giggled a great deal as Sasuke docilely placed him on the comfortable rug, climbing on top of him. "to somewhere where I could fuck your brains out."

From underneath Sasuke's shadow, he grinned, keeping his hands comfortable on Sasuke's shoulders.

"Is that how it happened?" Naruto asked, trying to subdue his laughter.

Sasuke kissed him and inched his finger pads up Naruto's belly, past his bare navel. "That's exactly how it happened." He smirked enigmatically.

"Really?" Naruto asked into the older man's smooth cheek.

"You don't believe me?" Sasuke's asked, efficiently undoing Naruto's belt.

"I didn't say I didn't… I'm just wondering why our little indiscretion sounds like a poorly plotted blockbuster movie."

"It doesn't sound… like a movie," Sasuke disagreed. "It sounds like consummation of burning passion between two repressed individuals."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "…Yeah, a movie."

Sasuke pulled back with a frown. "Just shut up and lay there."

Naruto laughed at Sasuke's flagrant irritation. "Why? Is that what I did last time?"

Sasuke tried to withhold the smirk but he couldn't. Naruto was too facetious for words. And he fucking loved it.

"No, you were vocal," Sasuke leaned down and tenderly kissed his neck causing him to lightheartedly laugh. "and very—" A kiss on the jaw. "Very—" A kiss on the chin. "Very." A soft kiss on the lips. "Involved."

Naruto's hands traveled onto Sasuke's neck, as he deeply kissed him, tongue flicking, lips suckling. He thirstily thrust his hips upward, their groins clashing in painful pleasure. They both moaned approvingly as Naruto continued the motion, addicted to the results of ecstasy. "_Did I want you as badly as I do now_?" He whispered in a husky, lust coated voice.

He pulled back, looking into Sasuke's insidious darkening eyes, exploring them for the immediate answer that his mouth wasn't giving. His body tingled, and his senses burned in anticipation. What was Sasuke going to do next?

"Yes," He growled back in confirmation, snagging his lips again.

"Ah," Naruto moaned receptively. In an attempt to steal a hit of pleasure from the equally aroused man, he periodically flicked his hips up ever so slightly. In turn, Sasuke hastily unbuttoned the shield between his their inhibited desires. Naruto helped, shimming out of the jeans and kicking them off his ankles.

Engulfing the beautiful sandy colored legs before him, he felt his throat become constricted with a lasso of anxiety. Sasuke took the liberty to squeeze the shapely thighs, all the while envisaging himself between them for the fourth time in the last 48 hours.

Naruto eagerly admitted Sasuke the delight of feeling every arch of his lewdly, willing body. He responsively separated his legs and set them at either side of Sasuke's hips. With that action, he immediately felt Sasuke's curious hand embark into his constricting boxers, preparing to taunt the keen muscle that was waiting for his touch. He shivered as he felt Sasuke ghost over the leaking tip with an undying amount of care. He whimpered helplessly as he held onto Sasuke like a brace.

He teasingly cupped Naruto's manhood, swallowing the small blond's moans as they departed. In the next few crucial seconds, Sasuke's index finger brushed the slit of Naruto's cockhead. As Sasuke lightly cupped it in his hand, the fully attentive member hardened even more. Naruto instinctively bucked into Sasuke's hand but the man still denied him the sweet gratification at his nonverbal request. As Naruto's hips descended, Sasuke dipped his back to Naruto's arousal pilfering up a copious amount of Naruto's precum. His hand took a trip to Naruto's soft lips and slipped his fingers directly onto Naruto's tongue.

The tanned man moaned, volitionally accepting the taste of his essence with mirth. His taste buds jolted from the bitter, creamy taste. He contently closed his ultramarine eyes and suckled on Sasuke's index and middle finger. Thickly coating it with salvia, he swirled his tongue around until Sasuke slowly removed his fingers. Naruto's spit left a leaky trail from his kiss swollen lips to Sasuke's fingertips. He let out a smoky breath, his big blue eyes reconnecting with Sasuke, portraying the physical display of sexuality that was only heard of in erotic fantasy.

As a result of the intimate gesture, the dark haired man felt himself become brick hard in his jeans. "_Fuck_…"

Naruto became enchanted, realizing that Sasuke was astounded by the sexual openness he readily exhibited. He hastily pulled Sasuke to his level, rewarding him with a delicious, well-deserved kiss.

Sasuke could taste the bitter essence coat his taste buds like a canvas. He shuttered and began letting Naruto massage the walls of his cheeks, also stroking his tongue, lips moving in conjunction with his.

The Uchiha assumed it was a request for advancement on the sexual scale. So he honored Naruto's wish for the continuation of their quest. He pulled Naruto's boxers down, binding his knees, freeing his erection like an incarcerated prisoner. His penis was leaking, red with needy pressure.

Sasuke concurrently felt a beckon of pride drown his ego. _He_ was the sole reason his body was begging for release. The reason that his body was so ripe with arousal. _He_ did this to Naruto. Not any other man. Him. And he was fucking proud of it.

Naruto arched up, trying to gain access to the hand that was resting on his inner thigh. Sasuke pleasantly grunted at Naruto's inextinguishable impatience. It was so apparent he wanted it so bad he could barely wait. Sasuke took that small detail into consideration when his finger strayed onto the length of Naruto's weeping member.

Naruto sporadically broke the kiss with a gasp, moaning at the delicate touch. Curling into the touch, appropriate to replete the small craving that he was aching to be satisfied, he felt his breath quicken and his heart burst with temptation.

God, he didn't know how long Sasuke was going to prolong this bout of pure torture. He really wanted to get down to the big, dirty deed but Sasuke was so insistent on carrying out the foreplay to the maximum capability that he couldn't even get him to move to the main act.

With this amount of sexual anguish cast on him, he didn't know how much longer he could hold out.

He felt Sasuke pull off his boxers and throw them aside like they were as useless as yesterday's garbage. Simply put, in his eyes, they were even more useless than that.

Sasuke lowered his body to Naruto's lower extremities with extreme caution, careful not to give Naruto too much pleasure. This was going to be a slow, sweet process. And he was going to make sure of it.

The young man's cock was making a leaking plead as it readily jerked. The pulses of pleasure were evident as Naruto bit his bottom lip nearly to the point where he drew blood. With a smirk, Sasuke took that everything into account as he lowered his head and blew lightly on the red head, making the point that he was in control of everything in _this_ situation.

He wanted Naruto to know that he had a perfect image of what he wanted and that he had the ability to make it come to pass. But he also wanted Naruto to know that everything would happen but only at his convenience and not **a moment** sooner.

It wasn't personal. It was the path of the Uchiha. And he had every intention of living up to the name he was blessed with at birth, whether it made Naruto squirm in his skin or not.

Taking heed to his inner thoughts, he tenderly dipped his finger into the indent of Naruto's cock, feeling a slick wetness come into contact with his finger pads. Again, he neared Naruto's genitals but this time, he took action, his silky lips dwelling on Naruto's inner thigh. Resting there for a second, Sasuke allowed Naruto to openly register how close he was. As he heard Naruto's raspy gasp, he decided to proceed with his plan to tease Naruto into the hilt of oblivion.

Slowly, his tongue peeked out for play time; tickling the surface of Naruto's skin, savoring the taste. Naruto's sex pulsed with need as Sasuke bared his teeth, clearly developing the plan to make Naruto wriggle with want. He sunk his perfect teeth into the tan thigh, leaving red bite marks at the site of interest.

Naruto arched into the sexual input of pain, quaking with the onset of the jolt of never-ending ecstasy. "Yessss," He grated out with a scratchy gasp.

Sasuke's ears tingled at Naruto's apparent enjoyment of the slight sexual sadism. It was so holy, so emancipating, he decided to try it again.

Biting down with slightly more heartiness than before, he drank in the sound of the other male's beautiful sound of acceptance.

Naruto knew he sounded desperate but he didn't care. He fisted Sasuke's hair as his spine tingled unmistakably. Begging for air, he felt the dark haired man free his inner thigh from the grip of his canines.

Sasuke quickly admired the markers left on the previously flawless skin. A triumph and jubilance came across Sasuke at the ideal of leaving his likeness behind on Naruto. His blood boiled with excitement at the thought that Naruto would have little "take away" souvenirs from this from this event. Every time he would strip naked, shower, he would have the constant reminder that he _had him._ The imprint alone easily made him even more aroused and invigorated than before. Guessing that Naruto was pleading for more direct contact, he tended to the thigh again with his mouth, nipping his in the same area but this time, he didn't just pull away. He suckled the skin between his teeth, concurrently gripping into the delicious flesh like a hungry animal.

Naruto screamed with great urgency, his chest laboring, stomach twisting in delight, never thinking he could ever get so much pleasure from a damn hickey on his body.

He decided that Naruto was prepared for the next step.

Not wasting another second, he retrieved a tube of lube that he readied beforehand on the rug. In lieu of the lubrication, he also made sure to purchase two boxes of condoms. Unlike last time, he didn't want the looming dread of 'protection' hindering them from having a grand 'ol time. The possibility of separation scared him last time and this time around, he didn't want to clash with that fear again.

He also didn't want to be forceful about the situation either. If Naruto wanted to use condoms, who was he to tell him no? It was his body and if he wanted to be more safe than sorry than that was his business. He had no right to encroach on his beliefs, nor try to change them. In any case, he didn't want to seem like he was being foolish about Naruto's abnormal ability to conceive, testing to see if he was in fact telling the truth by getting him pregnant or something…

He sighed, tasseling with a single box of magnum condoms. From his lax position on the rug, Naruto's tucked his chin into his chest, trying to capture a glimpse of what Sasuke was handling. When he realized what it was, he tried to get Sasuke's attention by touching his trembling wrist. "Sasuke, you don't have to use those," He trailed, his voice off softly, instantly worrying the other man.

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke's nostrils flared as his temperament was flagged with aggravation.

Naruto turned his outer thigh inward to show Sasuke just why he didn't have to resort to an outside protolithic.

Puzzled but clearly interested, Sasuke put the condoms down, cursing that he didn't notice the small Band-Aid beforehand. He must have been truly devoted to the foreplay to even realize the small bandage.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked, lightly caressing it with wonder.

"I went to the doctor," Naruto answered, his beautiful sapphire eyes purposely not breaking eye contact. "And I got injectable birth control," Naruto solidly informed, establishing a delicate timbre, soothing a flappable man that appeared be carefully swallowing the hard information, then bellying it the best he could without notice. To not arouse any more concern, Naruto continued softly, "It's 99.9% effective, meaning… You don't have to use a condom if you don't want to…"

Like Naruto expected, Sasuke didn't say anything back. He just looked at him soundlessly, appearing to repeatedly put into question the knowledge that was just shared. He assumed he didn't believe him which was understandable. He could have given him the comfort of telling him earlier. It just seemed convenient that he would mention it now. Like he had some sheathed ulterior motive.

He suddenly felt guilty, thinking he could have done more to make this a little easier on Sasuke. He knew he was really torn about what had happened the first time and he done everything in his power to make sure that it didn't happen again. And then, here, he was changing up on him again. Now, he was unsure of how Sasuke was going to struggle with his change of heart, or if he was at all.

Naruto licked his drying lips, apparently nervous. "You're clean, right?"

Sasuke nodded wordlessly, still trying to grasp the sudden change of heart.

Immediately, Naruto could feel how uneasy he was about this new development, questioning or not whether he should truly proceed with this tryst. In that moment, Naruto took the chance to rescue the hand that was quivering on his thigh and pulled it to his chest. He left it there letting his heartbeat prove to Sasuke that he was absolutely mesmerized by him—by what he was doing to him and that this shouldn't change anything. He slowly pulled his hand to his warm lips, his devotion to Uchiha's wellbeing discernible from the shutting of his eye lids. "Then you don't have to worry about it," he whispered, kissing Sasuke's hand, an overflow of emotion bursting through the flood gates.

Feeling the tension unclench from his joints, Naruto smiled, thinking that maybe this wouldn't change anything.

"Spongebob?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrow shooting up.

"Yeah, that wasn't really of my choosing. She didn't really think I was…" Naruto trailed off, knowing that he was already too embarrassed to even rehash the event, much less share it with Sasuke.

"An adult…" Sasuke said slowly, analyzing the small adhesive bandage, his boyish face glowing against the wafting fireplace.

Naruto blushed deeply, his blue eyes swelling with innocence as he looked away. "Yeah, pretty much."

Sasuke looked thoughtfully pensive, touching the area one more time for authenticity. Finally, he snorted, his eyes catching Naruto's. His face quickly went back to a stoic, objective slate, making Naruto slightly uncomfortable. That was a look that harbored thick, underground thinking, like he was changing his mind. Trying to catch him before everything that had happened so far was undone; he opened his mouth to object.

Sasuke looked up immediately in a scolding manner. "I _believe _you," he said, pure earnestness branching out from his convincing tone.

Naruto immediately closed his mouth, realizing that Sasuke was clearly annoyed with him.

"You don't have to earn my trust, Naruto. You have it until you give me a reason not to trust you anymore," Sasuke's mood lightened and his state of irritation appeared to slightly lift. Naruto stopped breathing as his eyes floated in amazement, blazed with fear. He'd never been granted something so precious easily before. Throughout the years, he had to work so hard to reach a certain place with all his "friends," even though he had given everything he had. He still had to prove that he was worthy of a single extension of belief. Even back when he was tasseling with Gaara, the idea was essentially the same. He had put an endless amount of effort when there was nothing given on their end. He didn't hand out trust either but when people seemed genuinely interested in his wellbeing, he let up, exposing another side to his guarded personality.

And here Sasuke was, giving it to him so easily. Was he from another planet? Or was he just stupid?

Or both?

His face worked up into a contemptuous frown. "Sasuke, I—"

"This really isn't the time for arguments, idiot." Sasuke flicked his finger over his bare, dusky nipple eliciting a hot gasp from him.

He rebuked Sasuke calling him idiot but he couldn't really think of a suitable comeback that would redeem his pride. Surprisingly, he dumbly nodded, feeling more inspired than ever to let Sasuke have his way with him.

"Get on with it—now." Naruto ordered with heavy breaths.

Sasuke smirked. "I thought you'd never ask _princess_."

"Hey, don't call me t…" His voice died out as Sasuke's hot touches lingered on the outskirts of his pelvis, his mouth covering skin on the tip of his cock. Naruto moaned, confirming the pleasure as the appendage twitched, precum leaking freely from his urethra. He shuttered like an earthquake, head twirling like a typhoon as Sasuke engulfed him whole. Quickly, he fisted the sea of inky locks, the feeling truly leaving his nerve endings on fire.

Sasuke mused. Before tonight, He had never tasted a male's essence. And now that he had, he still couldn't entertain an opinion. He didn't expect it to be a cuisine. It was bleach-y and bitter, coated with a salty base. Not particularly delicious but not heartbreakingly disgusting… It just…was…

Naruto, on the other hand, felt an intensity throb up his shaft—a kind that he hadn't really felt before. His arousal throbbed harshly and he felt a moan mistakenly fall out.

He could barely intervene with his palpitating heart. All he could manage was let the warm wetness stall his senses and hamper any rational thought from penetrating.

As Sasuke added his hand to the mix, he bobbed his head down religiously. His chest heaved and he gasped at the nearly professional attention given to his cock. Suddenly, he felt Naruto clutch a handful of hair violently and pull him up.

"Stop," he desperately croaked. "I don't wanna cum yet."

"Damn, already?" Sasuke asked as a satisfied smirk attacked his face. The strain literally pulling at Naruto's cute face made him feel so accomplished. His cheeks were red and his eyes were murky with lust, something he had only managed in a matter of minutes. That was an accolade that he could add to his ever expanding collection.

The mentally clouded man and pulled off Sasuke's jean jacket with a wicked smile. "Let's get rid of this." Quickly, he also helped Sasuke out of his shirt.

"Tired of foreplay now?"

Naruto giggled. "No—not necessarily. Foreplay's always great. I'm just ready for the real thing now."

Slowing to a weary stop, Sasuke felt his breath become trapped in his esophagus. "Your _body_," Naruto said with a low growl, touching at Sasuke's toned chest, intently impressed.

Sasuke looked at the delicate fingers raking to his defined torso, leading to the bridge of his pants. His eyes shifted to Naruto's, soaked with the black cancer that was the start of a beautiful nightmare. It spread, infecting their relationship, a bond that was tainted from birth.

Swallowing hard, basking in the glory of Sasuke's godly body. Pale and sleek, highlighted in the glistening pool of candle light. He felt his belly warm at the exclusive sight—feeling slightly advantaged by the privilege. A privilege he was almost certain that Sakura hadn't gotten yet.

"_Sasuke_," he carefully whispered, hardly recognizing his own voice. "Get _**out**_ of those."

For once, Sasuke quietly obeyed, ridding himself of those bothersome trousers.

Just when he was getting ready to take a short break, Naruto curtly interrupted with a chirp. "**Eh**. _Everything_." He stuck his index finger his suspecting chest. "Now."

Sasuke smirked at the pretty blond. For someone that was controlling to a fault, he was astounded much he enjoyed being bossed around by a small blonde bombshell. The commands translated to a pulses straight to his increasing libido. He strictly submitted, stripping out of his garments.

The sight extracted a sigh of relief from the younger male. He realized that this was the only time he had seen Sasuke fully nude. Aside from their small trip to the beach, he had only been struck by his imagination. To be afforded the right, no the privilege to see such a beautiful sight, he felt oddly liberated. No longer would he be an active hostage to his fantasies. Now he could drench his sensory receptors in all the indulgences had been pleading for since the beginning.

His eyes were drawn directly to the dick that was swollen red with need. He was going to be shoving that up his ass… And his pride was as a big as Sasuke's erection. Trying to slow his fear, he smiled, moving to return the favor but was stopped by a stern hand.

"Hey," Naruto said with a pout. His head flew up to look at the older man with a relentless stare. "What's that for?"

He leaned down and caught Naruto off guard with his sensual lips. "I want to get to the best part. Don't you agree, _Naruto_?" Sasuke mumbled, coming nose tip to nose tip with the baffled blond.

He nodded, their eyes trapped in a hypnotic gaze that was free of immorality and panic, only filled with genuine attraction.

"So, I really wanted you to fuck me last time?" Naruto asked. Sasuke affirmed with a nod. Naruto squawked. "With that?"

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah. You _loved_ it. You were even begging for more."

"Not that it isn't nice but it just doesn't seem practical." Naruto wearily raised his eyes to Sasuke's well-endowed length. "That I would be crooning to have you fuck me."

The broad mushroom head bobbed unapologetically as Sasuke shifted positions on the rug.

"Calling me a liar?" Sasuke asked, slowly lifting a brow.

"…No."

"Then what are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked with a blank, prodding expression.

"That I have no idea who I really am… or what I really want." He looked truly ashamed for his binge drinking fiasco. But more ashamed that his inhibition rate while sober was unnervingly high. He didn't even know what he had done from what he hadn't. He didn't even know that he had practically offered himself on a silver platter to Sasuke…

Everything had been a blur and here he was disputing what he only thought he would have said.

"Naruto," Sasuke mumbled. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Naruto heard his words but wasn't really sure if they penetrated his ears. "No. I want to," He quickly revealed. "I haven't changed my mind." He blinked slowly and then looked at Sasuke passionately. "And I'm not going to…"

Sasuke leaned in and kissed Naruto, gently pushing him down the plush rug. He hoped that Naruto was true to his word and there wasn't going to be any more mental interference that changed the course of their night. Nibbling on Naruto's inner lip, he swiftly reached for the newly purchased lubrication. Naruto moaned into Sasuke's mouth, using his tongue to explore the hot, tempting mouth that devoured him so sensually. It made it almost impossible to believe that the small discussion turned into a shameless copulation in Sasuke's apartment.

Dipping into the lube, he laid his finger pads on the entrance of Naruto's blessed hole. He lightly presparated on nape of his neck. This was the second time that he was doing this and he still didn't feel like he had gained any valuable experience. Previously by adventure, he what he imagined what was required in his head but Naruto wasn't the most cognizant being at the time. This time, he was dedicated to being a willing participant in Sasuke's evolving game. And this time he would feel every pinch, every pull, and every sting.

Sasuke curled his middle and ring fingers upward in Naruto's tight hole, pushing them in further, eliciting a fearful shiver from Naruto. He moaned, letting the back of his thighs fall over Sasuke's, letting his body relax into the motions.

"See how your body quivers at my every touch?" Sasuke mumbled into the safety of his ear, the break supplementing the otherworldly hotspot his heat seeking finger apparently have detected.

"You're a slave to my touch…" He straightened his fingers and then plunged in further, slightly scissoring. Naruto shivered, feeling his heavy eyelids join. After a minute of feeling Sasuke prodding and stretching he felt Sasuke hover over his sensitive frame.

Sasuke released a vulnerably shaky breath. "Can I?"

"Yeah," Naruto asked, appreciating Sasuke's hasty but polite request for permission. Actually, he found the gesture rather cute. After he felt Sasuke's fingers leave an empty void, they both made the joint effort to push him inside. As he felt the head of his cock submerge into the silky, hot hole with ease, he couldn't help but wonder if the white spots in his vision were a preview of heaven and its holy reverence.

He quickly succumbed to the harsh tail spin into that black, pleasurable oblivion that he had experienced last time. Chucking the intense silence to the back of his mind, he focused on the black pleasure presently consuming him.

A grunt escaped him and he heard Naruto release a contained wisp of air.

"I can't believe I enjoyed this last time…"

He heard Sasuke's ragged voice hitch with a snort.

"Don't laugh, asshole."

Another snort.

He condescendingly patted the top of Naruto's head.

"Don't pat me like I'm a damn dog." Naruto huffed much to Sasuke's amusement.

Just when he was about to ask if Naruto was ready to proceed, he encountered an inherently demandingly whisper that said, "_**Fuck**_ me."

Sasuke shallowly thrust, biting his lip to avoid from releasing a sound that he surmised would sound a little too weak and much too eager.

This time he focused, delving in deeper this time, soliciting a sound from his partner that he was sure was this time was a sound of pleasure, not pain.

"Yeah, that's really good..." Naruto held on purposefully to Sasuke's shoulders, gasping into the junction of his neck. His knees guided Sasuke to the hilt as his pelvis nuzzled tightly in Sasuke's balls. Feeling the jounces of endorphins rush his blood, his ass impulsively tightened on the cuff of Sasuke's dick causing an unsolicited suction on the muscle.

"Ah, Sasuke. Fuck yeah!" Naruto shouted out unceremoniously.

Sasuke clenched his inner thigh, reminding Naruto that the marking that his body had not fully recovered from their last little rack sack.

He thrust his hips up, bucking into Sasuke, ravenously trying indulge in all the pleasure.

Sasuke hammered into him like an impassioned demon on a mission that couldn't be stopped by the likes of God himself. He was well aware that Sasuke probably imagined this situation a thousand times over in his head. In different places, different times, under different circumstances—all the while still striving for it to happen. This must have been a stretch beyond the realm of reality for him, thus explaining the invigorated trend of harsh thrusts that he was inflicting on him.

He tried to shove every negative thought pressing to make entrance into his head. He wanted to spare himself from any intense badgering. This was supposed to be a divine space where he could lose himself and forget about the world, unafraid to just indulge in Sasuke… Where he could just be with him and leave the world and her problems behind.

Oh, Sasuke…

See nothing, just Sasuke. Feel just Sasuke. Just Sasuke.

"Sus, so deep," He pleasurably commented, rolling his hips up again, accepting more of the beautiful cock that he had been craving for some time now.

Sasuke gasped and although it was an uncharacteristic feature coming from the Uchiha, Naruto thought it could be the single sexist thing that he had ever heard. Feeling his heart flutter manically, he began to feel a battle of sensations explode in his nether regions. The continuous brushing against his prostate was making him very anxious and possibly partially insane.

It was weird but it felt like Sasuke was making passionate love to him. Almost like he regarded him as someone important—notion that he renounced with every fiber of his being. He was just a vessel, a means to pleasure, Sasuke's access to easy satisfaction. He knew that with every dwelling second, his value was diminishing. And that was the truth.

"Ah, Sasuke, right there…" He purred sweetly, clawing at Sasuke's back fervidly. He stopped, reasoning that he should be praising the body granting him such pleasure. Considering, he had never experienced such an intense feeling in his life, he thought that he should be more grateful than abusive. This constant sensation of fullness caused him to sizzle. His attraction to the Uchiha surpassed the idea of practicality and easily conceded to the boundaries of loyalty. The darkness that superseded the light and added to the excitement that been endeavoring to seep from his bones.

"Want more of that?" Sasuke seductively growled in his ear, pins of hot ice piercing his skin.

Naruto fervently nodded in fear that Sasuke would cease the barrage of pleasure storming his body. He couldn't believe how he was wordlessly beseeching that Sasuke continue fucking him in his apartment considering how annoyed and nasty he had been to the man in the recent past. It felt like this man that he once had little regard for was now palming his world in his very capable hands.

He made the sorted effort to reach up and kiss Sasuke's neck and nibble at his jawline. Sasuke grunted at the small display of affection, slightly hoping that Naruto would continue to share such caring gestures with him. Somehow, it seemed like the one thing that he ever really wanted in life.

Maintaining his philosophy and turning the tables, he did something slightly deranged and licked the shell of Sasuke's ear in the most teasing fashion he could muster. He was rewarded with a particularly hard thrust that jarred his rambled train of thought that was conclusively wrecked.

Sasuke enjoyed watching the pattern in Naruto's breathing change. He traced his jugular with his lips, ghosting over the hot, dewy skin. He drifted over the parted plump lips and carefully mashed his lips onto his, tasting his anxious, fluctuating responses.

He tried to counterbalance the pleasance seeping into his soul, kissing Sasuke while feeling the eruption of the source of the beautiful sensation from the constant pressure against his abused prostate. A fresh concaving pressure arrived in his tip of his dick feeling like he was going implode at any instant.

He still couldn't believe that the he was here, practically drooling from the corner of his mouth. He felt his toes curl and his spine arch into Sasuke. He felt the shame melt away as his high deteriorated into a blur of peaking delight.

Sasuke hammered into him systematically, submerged into the depth of unbelievable pleasure. He could proudly admit that this was any kush that he had ever tried in his 20 years of life. Was it possible that Sasuke could be a precious alternative to his slew of drug abuse?

He couldn't even confirm this new revelation. All he could think about how much he needed the man on top of him.

Sasuke pressed his body in further and then felt Naruto wither against his increased pace.

In a burst of short convulsions, the speechless blond clutched onto the dark haired man for dear life. A helpless whimper resounded from the blond as Sasuke experienced an intense, pulsating grip on his cock. His stroke slowed to an absolute halt as he felt his own orgasm approach at rapid speed. Suddenly, it crashed into his lower body like a rolling high tide wave and then spreading like an infection.

"Ah, shi_ttt_…" Sasuke lowered himself to the crook of Naruto's neck, pushing in as deep as possible, releasing a splurge of cum deep inside him. His cock ruthlessly throbbed as he felt his balls tighten, indicating that his orgasm was the strongest that it ever had been. His vision darkened and his hips shuttered as he tried to ride out the delightful shocks flaming his blood.

Despite feeling a sheen of sweat layer on top of Sasuke's skin, Naruto moved to embrace Sasuke carefully.

Naruto smiled and then gave an arid laugh. "We should totally do that again."

"Yeah?" Sasuke said, gratefully kissing his collar bone.

Naruto gave a flirty laugh. "_Yeah._"

Sasuke appreciated that Naruto gave him the strong urge to express his emotions, namely contentment. He gave a hidden smile against Naruto's skin, feeling like Naruto revived the simple composition of positivity that he felt like he had been lacking since childhood.

Although Naruto was rude, loud, and undeniably annoying, he exuded love that he had never seen before, something that Sasuke incontestably craved since he had met him that faithful afternoon. It made him wonder what it would be like to be the center of Naruto's attention and the object of this affection.

As his mind roved, the beautiful musk of sex inhaled made him drunk. Knowing himself he felt a habitual addiction forming. Which was strangely the same trait that he constantly berated Naruto for. Hypocritical but firmly mentally standing by his beliefs he huddled his sticky skin to Naruto's.

_Naruto was addicted to drugs, while he was pathetically addicted to Naruto. _

Naruto sighed, not sure if Sasuke was going to take his half-joking but half-serious strongly suggested route into consideration. He couldn't argue with the position he was currently in. The weight of Sasuke's muscled body wedged between the legs of his sprawled out frame, was the image short of perfection. The only thing missing was a replay…

Naruto rolled his head against the pillow that placed there for his comfort. It was so cozy that it was unsettling. He should have felt uncomfortable. He should have been running from his apartment like it was fire. Leaping away from his skin like it wasn't his own. He should have felt _repentant_.

He was here underneath his best friend's man in _his_ apartment after a circular sexual journey. This wasn't something that regular people engaged in on a regular basis. They would turn them down. Let their friend know of their boyfriend's disloyalty. But that wasn't the path that had traveled down. They were engaging in something else. _Treachery that felt so natural._

He felt Sasuke's breathing patterns steady as he felt Sasuke's fingers swirl around his pelvic area. Ironically, he was skidding his fingers down the length of Sasuke's spine, stopping every few centimeters to squeeze at his perfect skin. It was nothing short of a miracle that he wasn't fast asleep given how comfortable he was right about now. He thankfully sighed and then buried his face into Sasuke's neck.

He smiled, feeling Sasuke's hastened breath soften to a calm exhale. "How was it?"

"Pretty good, taking to account that is something new to me."

Like on cue, the Uchiha's muscles clench into an anxious clump of nerves. "What?" He said trying to unwind the bundle of unanswered questions suddenly swirling around inside him.

"Well, you were my first…" Naruto reluctantly remained silent shortly after, even though he felt like he wanted to explain. But somehow, felt like he would have dampened the situation even further.

"What?" Sasuke asked again mindlessly.

Naruto sighed, ready to answer the "I've done stuff with people but I never really went all the way?"

Sasuke appeared as quizzical and profoundly puzzled by the revelation as a penguin without ice. "What about… Gaara?"

"Gaara never really wanted me… in that way," Naruto whispered, pain seeping back into his expression and scantiness bleeding back into his bone marrow. Sasuke instantly became concerned, his eyebrows furrowing. Naruto quickly smiled, albeit painfully, trying to erase the subject from his mind, and sweep his emotions underneath the rug. And in a sad attempt to make Sasuke think that the matter was insignificant.

An image of a snooby Neji flashed between both of them and the room fell on deaf ears.

Naruto blinked slowly, picturing a happy place where his fresh wounds couldn't find him. "The things that people say about me aren't true."

Sasuke felt his mouth mimic the state of the Sahara desert. "What _exactly_ do they say about _you_?" He didn't mean to sound daft but the only experience he had ever had about people describing him was hurtful slander from Neji. He was ignorant to what else his peers might label him, but only because they never attended the same institute, making it nearly impossible for him to come into contact with such hearsay.

"That I'm a whore and a slut… And stuff like that, y'know." He said, his eyes veering into the roasting flames of the fire place, like the heat was trying to engulf the shame swimming in his eyes.

Sasuke felt slighted, unsure how to react to the external accusations. As much as he liked Naruto, he still didn't know enough about him to really call foul on those accusations. But despite his apprehension, he was still strongly influenced by his tendency to see the best in him no matter what.

He could call it a compulsion but he couldn't stop wanting to believe that there was a meadow of beauty in Naruto's stark imperfection and clearly visible flaws.

Something inside him wanted to tell Naruto that he didn't have to be perfect… Not to please him atleast. He just wanted him to be himself.

"But I'm really not like that," Naruto softly whispered, feeling like Sasuke's silence was a validation of everyone's varying opinions about him.

He already knew what he was thinking, most likely doubting everything he knew, and mentally shaming himself for the escalation of their relationship. Naruto felt disappointed but in the end, he had expected this reaction. What he didn't expect for him to weave his hand into hair and kiss him with wild abandon.

As the shock melted, and Sasuke pulled away, he knew it was real.

Sasuke wasn't going to judge him or make him think less about who he was and what he stood for. It was incredible—blinding. In a way that made him feel so valued, so precious. Like he was a normal human that deserved comfort. He didn't know that it was possible to feel whole in the presence of one person…

It felt new. He felt… New.

Jolting him out of his emotional stupor, he felt Sasuke's left hand cause a rich tingle left on the inside of his left thigh. His velvety voice rumbled, "Let's move to somewhere _more comfortable_."

Throat paralyzed with a rack of inexpressible emotions, Naruto wordlessly nodded, thinking, maybe it wasn't so bad to not be alone.

_*I love to feel the weight of your lips on mine._

I'd appreciate you telling me what you thought. The writing is… different. I'll let you decide if it's better.

Sorry this took so long but I am so insecure about my lemons and what not.

Follow me on Tumblr. Link's in the bio There I will give previews and let you guys know when I'm going to update.  
>I'll try to reply to all reviews. Still love you guys. I just wish I could get better so I could write more.<p>

Oh and don't worry about the next chapters, they are already written. This chapter was hard for me because well… I had to pay attention to all the sexual details? And it was driving me insane. But don't worry, I'll update later in the week.

–sigh- later.


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